Africa is expected to see the demand for smartphones grow this year as these devices move towards replacing traditional cellphones.
This is according to local analysts who say the price drop of these devices and competition among vendors will accelerate this uptake.
The IT research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that the market will expand by nearly 50% in 2011 and that these devices will account for almost one handset in five sold in the region.
“Awareness of smartphones and their adoption will spread rapidly in Africa, as the fibre optic trunk lines extend further from coastal landfalls into the landlocked interior states of Africa,” it adds.
Agreeing with IDC is Frost and Sullivan's ICT senior analyst, Spiwe Chireka, who says the fact that these phones have enhanced features like the Internet and the ability to access and store large amounts of data will push their adoption.
Many end-users want to have access to data wherever they are, she points out. So smartphones fill that gap, she adds.
She says the growth is pushed by many mobile operators who are promoting these devices, especially to the enterprise segment to push their business.
“There are many contract packages offered by mobile operators that are targeting the enterprise business,” Chireka says.
The other factor pushing the uptake, she says, is that networks across Africa now have the 3G support and capability.
According to her, the relevant content will also drive the adoption of the devices in the continent, as people want to have information at the tip of their hands all the time.
“They want to be able to read newspapers on the go, get relevant documents, as well as being able to pay utilities via their smartphones,” Chireka says.
Social networks like Facebook and Twitter will also accelerate the adoption of these devices in the region, especially in the consumer segment, according to the research.
“People nowadays want to be able to chat and exchange data with their friends and family anywhere at anytime,” she points out.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says the uptake in smartphones means that Africa is becoming part of the mainstream cellular market, and will more and more resemble the global mainstream in terms of device trends.
He says the key driver is availability. ”After that comes the ever-growing demand, in all markets, for phones that offer more and more functionality.”
In accord with Chireka, he states: “In the business environment, a phone that offers the ability to read, send and manage e-mail is becoming essential, and that is also a key driver in Africa.”
He adds that the region should also bear in mind that the smartphone market is still fairly new, therefore it is by its nature still small in Africa. “In any small but growing market, growth will be off a low base and percentage growth off a low base always looks dramatic.
“You would need to look at the absolute numbers, rather than the rate of growth, to get a true picture of market health,” he adds.
In line with this, a survey by Accenture predicts that consumer purchase rates mobile phones (excluding smartphones) will decline this year compared with last year, respectively. However, the smartphone demand is expected to rise rapidly during this period.
The research also found that ownership of basic mobile phones dropped from 79% in 2009 to 65% in 2010. In the same period, ownership of smartphones quadrupled.
In the survey, mobile phones were described as having basic voice capability but not the enhanced features available on smartphones, such as surfing the Internet.
The local analysts believe SA is a strong smartphone market and it will continue to outpace most of Africa in smartphone penetration for some years to come, they agree.
The ever-increasing use of smartphones by both enterprises and individuals will make mobile security a major concern in 2011, IDC says.
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