Our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) services freshly published Global Smartphone Wholesale Revenue, ASP and Price-Tier Forecast Report today. Please click here to access the full report.

Global smartphone wholesale (trade) revenues are forecasted to grow 22% in 2013  as high-end superphones, phablets and operator subsidies continue to drive the market to new heights.  The rate of growth, however, will slow to lower single digits beginning in 2015 as swiftly falling prices offset the continued volume growth.

Smartphone wholesale (trade) ASPs  dropped to 5% in 2012, mainly because of the greater portion and volume of entry and mid-tier models, which combined contributed to 37% of total smartphone volume in 2012, up from 20% one year ago. Emerging markets, such as China, saw a robust smartphone booming thanks to the increased availability from local brands, lower price and Chinese operators’ solid subsidies. The surging volumes in emerging markets significantly boosted up global smartphone volumes, while also drew down ASPs. We expect ASPs will  continue their decline during the forecast period.

North America will continue to have the highest smartphone ASP in the world through 2017, while the soaring volumes have been making Asia Pacific as the most valuable market through from 2011 onwards.

This detailed report forecasts global smartphone sales volume, revenues and wholesale ASPs by six major regions and five price-tiers from 2003 to 2017. Extensive analysis of the premium, high, mid, entry and ultra-low price-bands is included. The report is a valuable tool for device vendors, operators, component manufacturers, software developers, financial analysts, car makers, and other stakeholders who want to measure the smartphone market by value or price-brand and benchmark their pricing strategies.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, shipments of smartphones through operator-controled channels, like China Telecom, will rise sharply in 2013. The landscape for smartphone distribution is changing rapidly in China, the world's largest smartphone market by volume. Clients can view more analysis and forecasts in this published report.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, smartphone sales volumes will surge +56% in Africa Middle East this year. The rate of growth in Africa is almost two times higher than the global average. Growth will be driven by first-time buyers and 2G handset upgraders in major countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. More details can be viewed by clients in this published report, which forecasts worldwide smartphone sales for 88 countries globally, including Brazil, Spain, Russia and others.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, smartphone sales volumes will surge +69% in India this year. The rate of growth in India is two times higher than the global average. Growth will be driven by a wave of low-cost Android and Microsoft models for prepaid users from companies like Samsung, Micromax and Nokia. More details can be viewed by clients in this published report, which forecasts worldwide smartphone sales for 88 countries globally, including India, China, US and others.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, global smartphone sales will grow by +33% in 2013. Asia Pacific will remain the largest region, accounting for half of global smartphone sales in 2013. The two largest countries by far in 2013 will be the USA and China. This published report, available to clients, forecasts global smartphone sales, for 88 countries worldwide, from 2007 to 2017. Almost every major country worldwide is covered, including United States, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. This report can be used by operators, software developers, content developers, handset vendors, component makers, car manufacturers and other stakeholders to determine the size and growth rate of the huge global smartphone market.

Samsung unveiled its new flagship smartphone model, the Galaxy S4, at Radio City in New York, US, on March 14th, 2013. The S4 is an attractive model with advanced software and rich services. We expect the S4 to be a popular choice for consumers and carriers worldwide. However, Samsung rarely mentioned Google or Google services during its official presentations at the New York event, and we believe this marks a notable change in Samsung’s long-term smartphone strategy.The full report, Samsung Galaxy S4 Impresses, but Google is Sidelined, available to the clients of our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS), will give you the impressions and implications that we identified from the Galaxy S4 when it comes to the relations of Samsung and Google.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, global smartphone shipments grew +38% annually in Q4 2012, and +43% in FY 2012. Growth in the quarter was healthy but slowed a little as postpaid penetration matures. Samsung and Apple continue to dominate volumes due to their extensive retail presence. Huawei became the world's third largest smartphone player for the first time ever, highlighting the rise of Chinese brands. This published report -- available to download by clients --contains global smartphone shipments by the top 20 vendors by region by quarter from 2007 to 2012. Global smartphone shipments by vendor by operating system by quarter are also included in a pivot-table. The report is valuable for mobile stakeholders who want to size the huge market for smartphones and operating system marketshare by hardware vendor.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, global smartphone shipments reached a record level of 700 million units in full-year 2012. While Android was once more the dominant global OS by volume, Apple reclaimed some marketshare thanks to the first full quarter of availability for the new iPhone 5. This trend was especially apparent in North America, where Android appears to have peaked, but globally Android still accounts for a significant majority of all smartphones shipped. BlackBerry and Symbian continued to see their global presence shrink, and while Microsoft experienced a boost from the launch of Windows Phone 8 in Q4, the gain was smaller than expected.

This published report, available to download by clients, contains global smartphone shipments by operating system by region by quarter from 2009 to 2012. The report is valuable for mobile stakeholders who want to size the huge market for smartphones and operating system marketshare.

According to our Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service, HTC’s smartphone shipments worldwide declined by -29% annually in Q4 2012. We believe Chinese players such as Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo are grabbing large chunks of marketshare in China in the lower price-tiers, while the two smartphone giants Samsung and Apple achieved a lion’s share of volume and profit in the higher-tiers. As a result of the heightened competition, HTC’s global revenues were down -41% against the previous year and its gross profit fell by -92% annually. This published report gives more details for clients to download.

Strategy Analytics is proud to be an official research partner of the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show.

The huge and influential MWC show takes place in Barcelona, Spain, between Monday 25th to Thursday 28th February, 2013.

Strategy Analytics will be sending multiple analysts and consultants to this year's MWC show in Barcelona. If you would like to brief our analysts in our mobile phone, smartphone and tablet services, or to arrange formal / informal meetings with us, please contact us through this dedicated link on our website. We look forward to the possibility of meeting you in sunny Barcelona.