Smart Connected Devices to Grow 14 Percent Annually, Says IDC
By Ashok Bindra, TMCnet Contributor
Latest study from market watcher International Data Corporation (IDC (News - Alert)) shows that 267.3 million smart connected devices, a collection of PCs, smartphones, and tablets, were shipped in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q12), a 27.4 percent increase year over year. Similarly, it represented a 2.8 percent improvement quarter-over-quarter.
The IDC study indicates that consumers and business buyers around the world continue to show an aggressive appetite for these client devices, adding to the already large collection of devices that are still in active use. In terms of revenue, the total worldwide shipment amounted $131.5 billion, a 16.3 percent year-over-year growth. However, on quarter-over-quarter basis, it represented a 2.7 percent decline.
While the worldwide market is on the rise for these devices, the U.S. scenario is different. The IDC report indicates that PCs and smart connected devices as a whole are facing a difficult time in the U.S., as both unit shipments and revenues declined on year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter basis.
Consequently, as per the study, unit shipments for 2Q12 fell 7.8 percent sequentially and 5 percent annually to just under 47.4 million units. As a result, revenues for the combined categories dropped to $24.8 billion, a 10.3 percent sequential and 8.6 percent annual decline. The analysts attribute this situation to overall macroeconomic conditions and a degree of saturation.
Going forward, the research firm predicts that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2012 to 2016 will be 14 percent for all smart connected devices. Smartphones are shown to represent over 59 percent of smart connected device shipments in 2012 and will grow by nearly 15.8 percent annually, approaching 63 percent of device shipments in 2016.
Likewise, the study shows fastest growth in tablets, rising from about 10 percent share this year to 13 percent by 2016, reducing PC share from 31 percent in 2012 to 24 percent in 2016.
While Asia/Pacific is leading total PC and smartphone shipments, tablet shipments is relatively concentrated in more mature markets. EMEA is expected to gain share in tablets during the forecast period and the Americas and Asia/Pacific will increase volume but capture a smaller share of the global total.
In a statement, Bob O’Donnell, IDC’s program vice president for Clients and Displays, said, "The recent shipment data clearly demonstrates that we have fully entered into the multi-device era, where individuals are buying and using multiple devices per person, most often with different combinations of operating systems.”
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Edited by Rich Steeves
