iPhone effect drives smartphone sales

Smartphones to make up a third of all handset sales by 2013

The smartphone market will grow from around 10 per cent of total handset sales in 2007 to 31 per cent in 2013 driven by the "iPhone effect", new research predicts.

ABI Research predicts that this "meteoric growth" will be a product of operator drives to grow data revenues from advanced services, and the general trend to pushing "smart" operating systems into middle-tier devices.

The iPhone effect is "truly filtering through" the handset market as other OEMs strive to remain competitive, according to ABI.

Features that look set to proliferate and become central to enhancing user interface experiences include touch screens, touch pads and accelerometers facilitating tilt and shock sensing, as well as haptics providing tactile feedback.

Stuart Carlaw, vice president at ABI Research, said: "Smart operating systems are continually being optimised to run on processors with lower performance.

"There is a strategic move to support smart operating systems in single chip midrange devices in order to unlock more data revenues.

"The market is currently dominated by Nokia and Symbian. However, the coalescence of the framework wars in the Linux environment, and the growing stature of Windows Mobile, will enable new competitors to put pressure on this established axis."