Japan Handset Sales Increase in 2010
According to JEITIA, the 2010 handset sales in Japan grew, for 1st time in 3yrs, by 2.4% to grand total of 32.9M units sold: http://bit.ly/mAFrtL
Not a huge surprise given the current smartphone push.. as noted last year all operators here forecast major increases in this area, up to 50% of their devices sold, for 2011. [Eds]
TOKYO (Nikkei)–Total domestic shipments of cellular and PHS (personal handyphone system) handsets enjoyed their first growth in three years in fiscal 2010, thanks to the popularity of smartphones. Shipments grew 2.4% to 32.19 million units for the year ended March 31, according to data released Wednesday by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association.
The figure had slumped in recent years because of changes in how handsets are sold and higher prices. But strong demand for the carriers’ smartphones helped halt the slide. Cell phone shipments inched up 0.8% to 30.85 million units while PHS shipments surged 61.2% to 1.34 million units. The spike in PHS demand is attributed to the launch of a Willcom Inc. rate plan that includes free calls to out-of-network phones.
But the JEITA data does not include handsets from such foreign manufacturers as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., so actual shipments in Japan were likely higher. Shipments of handsets from domestic manufacturers rose 3% on the year to 2.92 million units in March, the first monthly rise in three months.