Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team wrote a report in 2011 predicting Coolpad would be a fast-growing mobile phone microvendor of the future. Fast forward to 2013 and that prediction is on track to coming true. Coolpad, of China, has transitioned from microvendor to a known vendor. Coolpad is now a global top-15 mobile phone player and nearly a top-10 smartphone brand, having surged from almost nowhere two years ago. What is driving the growth? Keen pricing of 3G models, a good Android portfolio for entry users, and a solid retail presence in open channels across China are three main causes of its expansion. However, Coolpad's global growth is coming more in "volume" than "value". Recent financial results indicate profits softened last year. Coolpad will need a hot-selling flagship 3G or 4G phone for international markets (where profits can be larger) if it wants to strengthen profitability this year.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, global LTE handset sales will surge +194% in 2013. The United States is currently the world's largest 4G market, while South Korea is the most advanced. Apple and Samsung are the "big 2" LTE handset vendors right now, due to their unrivalled brands, attractive products, generous operator subsidies, and extensive distribution. This published report, available to clients, forecasts global LTE handset sales for 88 countries worldwide from 2010 to 2017. Almost every major country worldwide is covered, including United States, China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and many others. The report can be used by operators, software developers, content developers, handset vendors, component makers, car manufacturers and other stakeholders to determine or prioritize the size and growth rate of the huge 4G phone market.

Total global 3G & 4G phone shipments grew to record levels in 2012. For the first time ever, 3G and 4G technologies accounted for more than half of all mobile phones shipped worldwide. Which brands are the biggest players? What is the outlook for 2013? The full report - 3G / 4G Accounted for Half of All Mobile Phone Shipments in 2012 - available to the clients of our WDS (Wireless Device Strategies) service, will guide you on the global 3G/4G handset shipments from 2000 to 2012 and global 3G/4G handset vendor market share per each 3G/4G technology in 2012.

Global mobile phone shipments overall remained flat annually in Q4 2012. However, the quarter witnessed phenomenal +1100% annual growth for LTE handset volumes, led by Apple and Samsung in developed markets. Meanwhile, 3G handset shipments slowed due to the spike in 4G demand. In this published report, available to clients of our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, we provide quarterly handset shipments by protocol for the top-30 global vendors, for 9 cellular access technologies, from 2001 to 2012. This hugely detailed report is valuable for handset vendors, component makers, operators, IPR holders and other stakeholders who want to track the size of 2G, 3G and 4G mobile phone markets.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, total worldwide mobile phone industry revenues grew a healthy +15% annually in Q4 2012. Profits and prices also increased due to a greater proportion of 3G and 4G models in the mix. Samsung and Apple dominate the industry and they are tightening their grip on value share, squeezing out almost all other rivals. This published report, available for download by clients, provides quarterly global handset average selling prices, revenues and profit metrics for multiple major handset vendors, from 2007 through 2012. Revenue share and profit share are also supplied. The report is a valuable tool for operators, component makers, automotive players and financial analysts who want to track the financial health of mobile phone makers.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, Sony shipped 9 million mobile phones worldwide in Q4 2012. Its position in the high-growth LTE cellphone market has improved recently and its global 4G share doubled quarter-on-quarter. Sony remains under-penetrated in the huge US and China regions, but in other parts of the world, such as Japan and Sweden, the Japanese vendor has good potential to grow this year due to an improved Xperia portfolio and various marketing activities across Latin America. More analysis can be viewed by clients in this published report.

According to the latest research from our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, global LTE smartphone shipments will grow threefold to reach 275 million units in 2013. It will be a record year for 4G technology. Companies leading the growth spurt will include Apple, Samsung, LG and others.

We forecast global LTE smartphone shipments to triple from 90.9 million units in 2012 to 275.0 million in 2013. Major countries driving LTE growth next year will include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China and South Korea. Multiple operators, such as Verizon Wireless, Everything Everywhere and NTT Docomo, are aggressively expanding their LTE networks. Key vendors leading the push into LTE smartphones will include Apple, Samsung, LG, Nokia, HTC, Motorola, Blackberry, Huawei, ZTE and Pantech. Popular LTE smartphone models will include Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S3.

It is clear that 2013 will be the year of 4G. LTE smartphone shipments worldwide will exceed a quarter-billion units for the first time. Multiple operators and multiple phone vendors will be launching dozens of LTE models across numerous countries worldwide. LTE has quickly become a high-growth, high-value market that no operator, service developer, component maker or device vendor can afford to ignore.

The global LTE smartphone market will triple in size during 2013. The LTE smartphone market has become highly valuable and we believe it will eventually attract new entrants seeking a slice of the 4G pie, such as Amazon or Mozilla. However, we caution possible new entrants like Amazon will not find it easy to break into the fiercely competitive LTE smartphone market and they will need breakthrough products that are strongly differentiated in areas such as design, price or services.

Exhibit 1: Global LTE Smartphone Shipments Forecast in 2013 [1]

Everything Everywhere, a JV between Orange and T Mobile, rebranded EE, has formally announced that it will launch the UK's first commercial LTE network on Tuesday 30th October, 2012. This is a coup for EE as they are roughly 6 months ahead of all their major UK rivals, including Vodafone, O2 and Three. With the EE launch the UK has instantly become one of the most dynamic 4G markets in Western Europe. However, our Country Share Tracker (CST) service notes that the UK remains a long way behind in an international context. The UK is roughly 2 years behind the US, and at least 1 year behind South Korea, Japan and Canada.

4GEE will be launching initially with 5 brands, 7 LTE phones, 1 dongle, and 1 pocket WiFi device. Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia and Huawei will all have products on offer. Subsidies from EE will be high. There will be plenty of subsidized devices available to try to tempt businesses and rich consumers away from Vodafone, O2 and Three. For example, EE thinks some early tech adopters at rival carriers will be willing to tether their existing 3G phones to Huawei's new E589 4G pocket WiFi device.

We estimate EE's data-plan pricing for 4G connectivity is on average around 10% higher than an equivalent 3G plan. We briefly trialed the 4GEE network in Central London yesterday and found it to be fast but a little patchy, while latency on YouTube videos was barely different from an HSPA connection. The 10% pricing premium is justified, but only just.

How big is the UK LTE phone market? It will soon be the biggest in Western Europe. We forecast UK 4G phone sales to surge +900% in 2013. More LTE forecasts and analysis, for the UK and 87 other countries worldwide, can be viewed by clients of our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service here.

Global handset sales will reach 1.6 billion units in 2012, and consumers will have a wide variety of handset types available for purchase.

Bigger screen size complemented with powerful processors and high-speed 3G/4G and beyond network capabilities have made these superphones and tablets high demand devices for content consumption (iPhone) and slowly shifting towards creation (Galaxy Note).

Thus, postpaid or mature mobile phone users are upgrading to phablets, superphones, and smartphones, while prepaid consumers are upgrading to feature phones and smaller sized / mass-market smartphones. The phablet and superphone are high ASP, high profit smartphone sub-segments which look especially promising as a super-high-growth market, which we forecast to expand over 300% between 2012 and 2017, bolstered by the recent addition of Apple iOS devices to a long list of Android- and Windows Phone-powered superphones.

The report below forecasts global handset sales by type from 2003 to 2017, and it identifies which categories will grow at above-average rates during the next five years. Types of devices covered include phablets, superphones, smartphones, smart feature phones, standard feature phones and basic phones.

Handset Sales Forecast by Type: Phablet, Superphone, Smartphone, Feature Phone & Basic Phone

According to new research from our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, wholesale (trade) prices of mobile phones will rise +10% in Brazil during 2013. Among the "big four" emerging markets -- Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC) -- Brazil will experience the fastest growth in average selling prices next year. Brazil's pricing will grow two times quicker than China's. What is driving the uplift? Three main reasons: 3G, subsidies, and GDP. The tide of 3G phones being shipped is rising at a healthy clip. Subsidies for postpaid users remain present at some major carriers. And Brazil's citizens are getting wealthier (despite a recent slowdown), meaning they can afford pricier models. More analysis and forecasts of revenues, prices, and price-bands for Brazil through 2017 can be viewed by clients here.