Emerging markets drove the growth

Jan 26, 2007 13:05 GMT  ·  By

It's hard to imagine our lives without mobile phones, mainly because they have become so advanced that we can use them for practically everything.

Basically, just by taking a more advanced mobile phone along you'll have a digi cam, an MP3 player, camcorder, organizer and much much more.

So maybe the phone won't take high-quality snapshots as a digi cam, but then again, imagine how convenient it would be to carry along four or more devices instead of just one small and light device that you can hold in your pocket, which can do everything the other four can.

Aside from that, manufacturers are working on improving every single feature included in their handsets, and mobile phones with 10 or more megapixel cameras are not impossible to achieve anymore.

There are phones for the music enthusiasts, phones for the fashion conscious and simple phones for the people who only need to call and be called. Frankly, there's a mobile phone to suit anyone's needs. That's why it's not surprising at all that more mobile phones are sold as each day passes by.

Ramon Llamas, research analyst in IDC's mobile technology and tracking team, said: "Device shipments into emerging economies in Asia/Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America have surpassed shipments to mature markets, and the difference between the two continues to grow."

"Mobile phones are seen as both a practical necessity and a status symbol in many emerging markets. Together, these economic, technological, and social conditions will continue to drive strong demand for mobile handsets in emerging markets for some time to come."

Reportedly, vendors shipped 1.019 billion units in the past year which means that the 1 billion milestone has finally been hit.