iPhone to ignite smartphone use, ARM chief says "CEO Warren East believes smartphone sales could double this year because the iPhone will spark smartphone demand overall to take off

The iPhone is about to do for smartphones what the iPod did for digital music players: put one in everyone's pocket. That's the message Warren East, CEO of ARM Holdings, brought to Computex Wednesday in a talk about the future of mobile computing.

The idea of putting computing power into a small device has been around for years. Apple put out the Newton personal digital assistant (PDA) in the early 1990s, followed by U.S. Robotics with its Pilot (which later became the Palm). Adding computing functions to mobile phones, to create smartphones, happened soon after. Now, demand for Internet access while on the move is making small computing devices even more popular. Even the computer industry has taken up the challenge, with its ultramobile PC.

"This has been an emerging market for a long time," East said in an interview. And the hype surrounding the iPhone will put smartphones in the lead as demand for Internet access at all times takes off, he said." In fact, he believes that smartphone sales could double this year if the iPhone proves to be the hit that some people expect. Sales will end up close to 200 million units, or double last year's figure, if the iPhone is a hit, East said, because smartphone demand overall will take off. "Within the next few years, smartphones will make up half the mobile phone market," he said."Via InfoWorld .

Labels: iphone, smartphone

  ¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 6/06/2007 09:47:00 AM