New Mobiles 2010
It’s been an interesting year in the mobile industry this year, I think it’s probably been one of the hardest for many manufacturers as they have coped with the economic downturn across the world. During this year we have seen the arrival of the smart phone hitting the mass market with many manufacturers introducing them at reduced pricing which I think has helped them to generate revenue in many ways, which we will discuss in a little while.
I think it’s also been a good year for consumers as we have seen price drops across the board of many phones that would have been more expensive in 2008. We have also seen many providers dropping pricing as many consumers have opted to drop contracts and decided to purchase prepaid – which in turn has made the network providers change their pricing structure and their offerings.
I suppose we for network providers in Ireland competition has really started to take place as customers find the beginning to understand pricing and tariffs. Or perhaps, maybe they are starting to look at their bills as they try to reduce costs and now have the incentive to switch networks. A simple little look at callcosts.ie and they should see the kind of price differences between the various networks ending on the amount of phone calls to make.
Smarthphones in 2010
The iPhone really launched the smart phone evolution and in Ireland O2 really have a monopoly on this with offerings that are way below what their sister company in the UK are offering in terms of data transfer and pricing. Early next year we will see Vodafone launching the iPhone in Ireland, I’m really not sure if this will be any better than what O2 are currently offering – he would like to think that competition would be strong and that they would come out fighting to try and get some market share at this extraordinary phone. But, the monopoly that the two big boys seem to have a can almost guarantee that it will be in identical offering again ripping off the unsuspected Irish public compared to the offerings that will be available in the UK.
I would really like to think that I am wrong in his assessment that will be nice to see someone find the coming into the art market offering unlimited data transfer on your mobile phone. But, I really don’t think this will happen.
I think we will also see the emergence of many more smart phones in 2010. We have already seen the major manufacturers like Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia launching smartphones and even launching their own application stores to try and gain extra revenue from software.
I really think this is a market for many Irish retailers/network providers have completely missed to not realize the revenue potential from applications, games, ring tones, wallpaper. We know that some of the network providers already offer these services but they tend to be vastly expensive so hopefully in 2010 we will see somebody emerging from the Irish marketplace to give orders consumers offering is value for money and offering a service that is worthy of customers. You know what they say any company offering genuine value to the customers will always survive in the economic downturn and I think it is up to consumers to find out which provider is offering value and service to the customers as the one you should stick with.
What Will Be New in 2010
During a recession you always find that many people will start to cut back on spending, most of this is due to the hysteria because of the media. They tend to live on negativity and pessimism which in turn makes a lot of people financially paranoid and start to expect the worst.
The effect on the mobile industry in Ireland has caused many people to start reducing their spending habits on purchasing new phones. This is not just here, it’s across the world as many people start to get a little bit scared about spending money they cannot justify purchasing expensive phones. This means more people will purchase cheaper phones and do not want to spend €300 or €400 on the latest and greatest phone that has just been released. Hence, they will start to purchase cheaper phones, which in turn reduces the manufacturers profit margins and retailers profit margins.
I think it will be a tough year and the real survivors will be business to provide genuine value to their customers. Some businesses that provide genuine value can really do better during a recession and I think we will see many consumers voting with their feet looking for the best value in phones and tariffs as we move into 2010.
I remember reading at the start of 2009 that LG are planning on releasing 125 new models of phones during the year. That was more than two new model phones every week, will they do that in 2010 I really don’t think so. I really think that many of the manufacturers are concentrating on producing phones in the €50 – €150 price range as this will be where the majority of consumers would be willing to spend. Of course you always get the guys who want the latest and greatest phones at around the €500 and more price bracket but that’s not where they will make their money.
I’m also hoping that 2010 will see further reductions in pricing of calls/data/SMS in Ireland. It would be nice to see a bit of a price war taking place just to see how far pricing can be pushed back in favor of the consumer.
What Next
Over the next couple of weeks we will start to look at the new technology that is expected over the coming year to hit the mobile market. I think we’ll start to see the emergence of built-in projectors into phones and I really think we will start to see more and more applications being released on various platforms.
It’s all good news for us here at mobile.ie as we are expected to keep busy providing reviews and news to our readers of the various technologies that will be emerging in 2010
Related posts:
- Windows Mobile 7 Now not due until 2010
- BlackBerry 8220 Pearl Flip Phone
- Vodafone 360 Set to Launch
- iPhone Now Available on The Orange Network
- Wireless Controled Devices
Filed Under: News
