Handango predicts 123M smartphones ship this year

Based on new statistics that suggest soccer moms and teens are warming to smartphones, Handango Inc. is making seven predictions for the smartphone and mobile content market for 2007. The global content provider with a distribution network of more than 16,000 content partners is forecasting smartphone adoption and use will reach the mainstream by year’s end with more than 123 million units expected to be shipped worldwide, marking a 15-percent share of the mobile-phone market. Mobile TV, it says, will hit the small screen in a big way as screen quality and download speeds continue to improve, and it predicts fourth-quarter revenues from MobiTV, HandiTV and PocketStreamer to increase 63 percent from the previous quarter. GPS-enabled and location-based services will finally live up to the “killer apps” they’ve been touted as for years, Handango predicts. As smartphone adoption grows, Europe will experience the biggest share of the pie through 2010 as unit shipments compound at an annual growth rate of 49.3 percent, it said, citing data from research firm IDC. As more wireless subscribers consume mobile content, over-the-air downloads will grow at a pace even faster than the 186-percent year-over-year increase Handango’s storefronts have experienced, the company said. And finally, Handango predicts more professionals will rely on content delivered on smartphones in 2007 while more large consumer brands will realize opportunities in the market by creating more content best suited for smartphones.