Remember life before smartphones, when a phone was something you actually used just to make calls? Well, the basic handset which served us all well until these new fancy devices came along may soon be a thing of the past as news reaches us that sales of smartphones have exceeded basic feature handsets for the first time.
According to analyst group Gartner, during the April-June period, worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 435 million units and smartphone sales accounted for 225 million units, up 46.5% from the previous year, while the poor old basic feature handset totalled 210 units, down 21%.
This news comes as no surprise as smartphones have become a must-have device for the younger generation, business professionals and social media addicts. As a B2B PR professional that needs constant web access and access to email, doing this job without one is unthinkable. However, the reality we all managed to do our jobs without one as recently as a few years ago, so I guess we’ve just all become part of the always-on generation that needs information and needs it now.
The Gartner report also shows that Samsung continues to lead the race over Apple as the best seller of smartphones globally.
So with sales of smartphones not looking at slowing down anytime soon, and the cost of these handsets coming down in price, the future for the basic feature phone is surely looking bleak. I can think of at least three people that are so far resisting the functionality of a smartphone, perfectly happy with their basic handset. Surely they can’t be alone….?
