A billion cell phone shipments possible this year

[Bob Russell]

Portable Design is reporting that we are potentially approaching the one billion mark for cell phone shipments this year after the strong start seen so far.

"According to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, 470.7 million units have shipped so far in 2006, which suggests that the industry may be close to shipping 1 billion units for the full year.

'The industry has been eyeing the milestone of 1 billion handsets shipped in a single year for some time, and many believe 2006 will be the year it happens. However, while the first half of the year has been impressive, IDC does not see this milestone being surpassed this year,' says Ryan Reith, research analyst for IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker. 'Although the demand for handsets in emerging markets continues to soar, the market's surging growth rate has been balanced by slowing demand in select mature markets.'"

Regardless of whether we just approach a billion, or surpass that number, it's clear that this is a market which is not going away soon. And as phones become more and more intelligent and capable, people are going to start discovering the potential of handheld devices. Especially as phone makers continue to improve usability.

Cell phones have sometimes been considered an obstacle for handheld adoption, especially with regard to highly capable cell phones reducing the need for smartphones. But this may just be the world wide doorway to advanced handheld device adoption.