Last month, IDC reported that smartphones outsold feature phones for the first time in Q1 2013. According to NPD, this trend will continue throughout 2013. They say that this year will be the first full year where smartphones kick the living snot out of feature phones.
None of this should be a surprise for anyone following the mobile phone industry. Just visit any country in Asia and prepare to be stunned at the types of devices you can get for just $50. Take the X5292 for example. It’s $53.50 shipped, and it features dual-band GSM/EDGE, a 3.5 inch 480 x 320 pixel display, and a single core 1 GHz processor. You’d obviously never use a phone like that, but for someone looking at that device versus something like a Nokia Asha, the choice is clear. Go with Android, enjoy a buffet of apps. Of course these unknown Chinese brands likely can’t build a phone as well as Nokia, but that’ll change given enough time.
