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May 2003 - The last 12 months has been a very trying
time for both handset component manufacturers and
handset manufacturers alike, reports In-Stat/MDR
(www.instat.com).
The high-tech market research firm finds that, after
many years of incredible growth, the handset industry
has hit a series of stumbling blocks, including
everything from a slow worldwide economy, to lackluster
consumer acceptance of some new cellular services
such as wireless data. |
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While
the number of handsets continues to increase, the vast
majority of handsets sold each year are standard, voice-centric
devices, and not the data-centric devices that service
providers were hoping for. Still, signs of returning
growth are starting to appear, and with 2.5G and 3G
already in operation, long-term prospects for growth
look good, and new technologies look promising, although
the days of rapid growth in handset semiconductor revenue
are behind us.
In-Stat/MDR
has also found that:
- In
terms of semiconductor revenue, the next few years
look relatively flat. While units are increasing,
drops in component costs will compensate for any unit
increases. From 2002 to 2007, the revenue from core
handset semiconductors is forecast to drop at an average
rate of a bit more than 3% per year.
- In
terms of add-on components, those semiconductor components
that add to the basic functionality of a handset,
the future looks bright. These add-ons include Bluetooth,
cameras, GPS location technology, MPEG-4 multimedia
technology. Revenue from add-ons is forecast to grow
from approximately $856 million in 2003, to almost
$1.7 billion in 2007. In terms of size, the add-on
segment of the total handset semiconductor market
represents 10% or less than the size of the core handset
semiconductor market.
This
Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat/MDR, "Wireless
Handset Components - The Rapidly Evolving Mix",
which analyzes the trends and technology in cellular
handsets, and translates this into what it will all
mean for semiconductor manufacturers. Forecasts in this
report include component chipset units, average selling
prices, and handset revenue for the following handset
semiconductors: Bluetooth, GPS, WLAN, MPEG-4, camera
image sensors, and main handset semiconductors, which
are broken-out by RF/IF, baseband, flash, SRAM, audio,
power management, and discretes. Five-year semiconductor
forecasts are also broken-out by air-interface technology
into the following categories: CDMAOne, CDMA2000 1X
EV-DO, CDMA2000 1X EV-DO, GSM, GSM GPRS, GSM EDGE, TDMA,
PHS, PDC, and W-CDMA.
SOURCE
Instat MDR Press Release Back
to News Reports
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