Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES
[Wednesday 21 November 2012]
In another sign of their rising clout in the
supply chain, smartphones in 2013 will account for a larger share of NAND flash
memory usage than feature phones, the first time this has ever happened,
according to IHS iSuppli.
Approximately 792 million flash memory units,
including both NOR and NAND varieties, will ship in 2013 to smartphones,
compared to 703 million units for feature phones, said IHS. This compares to a
total of 790 million units for feature phones and 613 million units for
smartphones in 2012.
That means that between 2012 and 2013 there will
be a 29% growth in flash memory shipments for smartphones, versus an 11% decline
for feature phones, IHS indicated.
"Because feature phones this year will remain the
largest segment of the global mobile handset market, they will continue to
consume the largest amount of flash memory of any single type of phone," said
Ryan Chien, analyst for memory & storage at IHS. "However, a permanent
reversal will ensue next year as smartphones overtake feature phones in total
units and flash memory shipments. This illustrates the rising influence of
smartphones within technology markets."
Despite their anticipated loss of market
leadership, feature phones will continue to make up a substantial portion of
flash memory shipments in the years ahead, accounting for well over 500 million
units each year through 2016, IHS noted.
Overall, flash memory densities continue to rise
as bit costs erode and as feature phones grow in sophistication to meet the
changing needs of consumers, especially in the emerging markets of the
developing world where consumers are becoming increasingly mobile-centric, IHS
said. High-density
NOR remains common in feature phones because of its superior
speed for code execution, while NAND densities of 128 megabytes can now be found
in mainstream feature handsets in order to handle applications and media
storage.
The continued high usage of flash memory in
feature phones is due to various factors, IHS said. For instance, superior
cameras of two to three megapixels are now common in the handsets, with more
than 400 million feature phones shipping with such cameras this year. Also
playing a factor is the increased utilization of feature phones as portable
music players, a functionality that encourages higher storage densities. A third
driver is the penetration of wireless 3G into feature phones, facilitating more
frequent usage of apps in the handsets.
Feature phones can become a good opportunity for
handset brands to establish customer loyalty for future upselling, especially in
areas like Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and parts of Asia, where
handsets are still making their way into the local population, and where
cellphone usage growth is much higher than in the mature markets of North
America and Europe, IHS said.
An upselling strategy could well benefit entities
like Nokia and Research In Motion (RIM), two handset makers that have stumbled
in the smartphone space in the developed world, but maintain strong presence in
many emerging countries, IHS said. While products from both companies have lost
their luster in the high-end handset spectrum, the historical success of the two
firms could position them for continued popularity in the emerging markets via
the future products they release, especially as consumers there enjoy increased
purchasing power over time.
Nokia, in particular, is well-suited for
developing markets: its phone prices have dropped 50% since 2007, during which
time Samsung's prices jumped by nearly the same margin of 50%, IHS
observed.
All told, feature phones remain a critical
segment to meet the needs of a fast-growing and potentially lucrative
demographic in many areas of the world, which should benefit the flash memory
market, IHS believes. This is true despite projections for smartphone shipments
shooting through the roof.
Source: IHS iSuppli, compiled by Digitimes,
November 2012
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