September is going to be a huge month for the mobile phone market. The big players are set to launch a number of new devices in the next few days and at Jungle Media we’re keep to see what these handsets can do and how they might affect our web marketing strategies.
In New York on Wednesday, Nokia is staging a major event at which it is expected to unveil its first Windows 8 device. This is quite a critical moment for the company who have been in somewhat of a downward spiral of late. It’s also a pivotal moment for Microsoft – will they ever be more than a niche player in the mobile industry?
Apple is also expected to unleash its latest iPhone in San Francisco next week. Apple is notorious for being secretive and the company has not confirmed whether or not the event is definitely taking place. However, a new device from the hardware giant is due if it wants to push forward with sales. Phone buyers are fickle and it’s important to keep them interested with brand new handsets and new technology.
And what of Android devices? Well, with new handsets due from Samsung, HTC and Motorola, the battle is hotting up in this arena too.
According to recent marketing statistics from IDC, Apple accounted for 17% of the smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2012 whilst Android scooped a 68% share. Blackberry struggled to account for 5% which was less than half the figure they achieved last year. Phones running Windows Phone 7 made up just 3.5% of the market so it will be interesting to see how Windows 8 fares on the new Nokia.
So, who will be on top of the pile by Christmas? Our money is probably on Apple and Samsung. However, Nokia, Motorola or HTC could pull something out of the bag that convinces consumers that it’s cool to have something a little different. Unfortunately, Blackberry will be out of the running this year as their new Blackberry 10 is not due out until 2013; a decision they may deeply regret.
Looking at this bunch, we’re thinking it’s unlikely there will be any ground-breaking launches, but as always we’ll be focusing our efforts on providing internet marketing that caters for mobile devices and the way users are currently searching for data on their devices. In the early part of 2012, 1 in 3 local searches were conducted on a mobile device.
