Emerging markets key to mobile future

Leading mobile players at 3GSM have stated that “emerging markets” are where the future growth in the mobile industry is going to come from, proving that not even the highest execs are blind to the blatantly obvious, even if they do engage in a bit of school-yard bragging. “China was cool for us before anyone else thought it was cool,” said Ed Zander, chief executive of US handset maker Motorola. The first world markets are (mostly) saturated, while the third world are just getting started with estimates of up to a billion new users in the next few years. This will be driven by a number of factors, including a reduction in the price of handsets to sub-US$50, the fact that wireless communications are cheaper to install than wired communications, and that smartphones will begin to look extremely cheap compared to a computer.

While this article focuses on handset manufacturers and operators, content developers should also consider what sort of product will do well in the new markets. Aside from different languages, its probable that there will be some applications that are ignored in Europe and the US but will boom in developing markets…

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