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Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
September 13, 2007
Ultra-Mobile Devices to Hit 95 Million in Five Years
By Tim Gray TMCnet Web Editor
The market for Ultra-Mobile Devices (UMDs) is steadily growing and is expected to near nearly 100 million units over the next five years, according to a new study.
This new class of "always-on" Internet-connected products, referred to throughout the technology industry as UMDs, are becoming increasingly appealing to a wide range of buyers and is expected to reach shipments of nearly 95 million units by 2012, and should prove extremely profitable for their makers, according to ABI Research (News - Alert).
Stan Schatt, vice president at ABI Research, says the UMDs market is experiencing “very exciting” growth and should be potentially a “very lucrative area" in coming years.
"What makes this market so intriguing is that products will assume so many different forms,” said Schatt. “That product differentiation will be an integral part of the ultra mobile device marketing plan."
“Mobile Internet Devices and UMPCs" is the first study covering both types of devices, and categorizes in unprecedented detail the buyers who will be adopting them, and what applications they will be running.
The study labels UMDs as both Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs), which run Windows and business applications and are aimed at business users, and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), which target consumers and are more likely to run a Linux operating system.
According to the study, MIDs with their lower prices and wider appeal, will make up the majority of the devices shipped. Both UMPCs and MIDs will feature multiple wireless connectivity technologies including Wi-Fi
, Wi-MAX, and cellular in an effort to maintain "any time, anywhere" Internet connectivity.
This diversity is also reflected in the range of applications that will be offered: Web browsing, music, navigation, voice, and data communications including e-mail and IM, photo/video, and vertical commercial applications will all be popular, the study said.
The ultra mobile device ecosystem will ultimately contain hundreds of vendors — chipmakers, display and device manufacturers, application developers and service providers.
Tim Gray is a Web Editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To see more of his articles, please visit Tim Gray’s columnist page.
This new class of "always-on" Internet-connected products, referred to throughout the technology industry as UMDs, are becoming increasingly appealing to a wide range of buyers and is expected to reach shipments of nearly 95 million units by 2012, and should prove extremely profitable for their makers, according to ABI Research (News - Alert).
Stan Schatt, vice president at ABI Research, says the UMDs market is experiencing “very exciting” growth and should be potentially a “very lucrative area" in coming years.
"What makes this market so intriguing is that products will assume so many different forms,” said Schatt. “That product differentiation will be an integral part of the ultra mobile device marketing plan."
“Mobile Internet Devices and UMPCs" is the first study covering both types of devices, and categorizes in unprecedented detail the buyers who will be adopting them, and what applications they will be running.
The study labels UMDs as both Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs), which run Windows and business applications and are aimed at business users, and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), which target consumers and are more likely to run a Linux operating system.
According to the study, MIDs with their lower prices and wider appeal, will make up the majority of the devices shipped. Both UMPCs and MIDs will feature multiple wireless connectivity technologies including Wi-Fi
, Wi-MAX, and cellular in an effort to maintain "any time, anywhere" Internet connectivity.This diversity is also reflected in the range of applications that will be offered: Web browsing, music, navigation, voice, and data communications including e-mail and IM, photo/video, and vertical commercial applications will all be popular, the study said.
The ultra mobile device ecosystem will ultimately contain hundreds of vendors — chipmakers, display and device manufacturers, application developers and service providers.
Tim Gray is a Web Editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP
communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To see more of his articles, please visit Tim Gray’s columnist page.
