Demand for Smartphones to Exceed 1 Million

By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter

The market for smartphones in South Korea is expected to surpass 1 million in 2010 as the feature-loaded, high-functional devices are flying off the shelves at local stores, a survey showed Monday.

Samsung Electronics and KT, the nation's No. 2 mobile carrier and an exclusive partner for the sale of Apple’s iPhones, are expected to take the lead in the rapidly-growing segment.

According to the recent survey of 153 industry experts conducted by market research firm ROA Group, 76 percent of respondents said the sales of smartphones in the nation will exceed 1 million next year.

Some 16.3 percent forecast between 1.5 million and 2 million will be sold ― the remainder expected the market to stall at under 1 million.

"The smartphone market share will reach between 4 and 7 percent of the total in 2010, considering the estimated total of 22 million handsets sold this year," the research firm said.

In a separate questionnaire, 52.5 percent of respondents said KT will lead the local mobile service market, compared to 57.4 percent who answered Samsung Electronics is expected to maintain its current position as the leading handset vendor.

Although South Korea has one of the highest mobile-phone penetration rates in the world at over 90 percent, it is relatively new to the world of all-in-one smartphones.

But the market has been growing rapidly after KT introduced the iPhone earlier this year.

South Korea, a market with 47 million mobile users, is home turf for the world's No. 2 and 3 mobile phone makers, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

Inspired by initial but impressive iPhone moves, the vendors are stepping up efforts to catch up on smartphones.

Samsung, LG and other major handset makers are competing for supremacy when it comes to smartphones, which boast Web browsing and multimedia features.

Android Boom

To match up with the smartphone trend, the popularity of mobile phones powered by the Google-backed Android operating system is also expected to rise steadily, while the Windows Mobile camp will further lose momentum.

About 54.6 percent of respondents said Android-powered mobile devices will see a rapid increase in market share in South Korea.

The local share of Windows Mobile-embedded phones is expected drop to 14.9 percent in 2010, which is smaller than iPhone operating system’s 27.7 percent.

The Android platform, developed by a cross-industry alliance led by Internet giant Google, is based on open source Linux software and enables greater flexibility for programmers building applications and features tailored to handsets.

Handset vendors such as Samsung promise that their Android-powered mobile devices will allow users to have a seamless transition in Web services from their desktop computers to mobile phones.

Samsung insiders say smartphones based on the Windows Mobile operating system will account for just 50 percent of smartphones next year ― a drop from 80 percent this year.

"Android-powered handsets are expected to represent about 30 percent of Samsung's smartphone lineup in 2010," an industry official told The Korea Times, asking not to be identified.

"The Android operating system has the edge in processing power and Web browsing speed, and also has advantages in touch-screen functions and interfaces," he added.

yckim@koreatimes.co.kr

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