Given the growing interest by operators in smartphones, intensified competition among vendors, and the greater potential for growth in Latin America compared with other regions, the region's smartphone segment will represent an opportunity of 150 million handset units over the next five years – 48 million handsets units in 2014 alone, according to the latest report from Pyramid Research.

Smartphones in Latin America: Big Opportunities for Operators and Suppliers examines the potential for growth in Latin America's smartphone market, as well as the factors driving this trend, by analyzing operators' and vendors' strategies. The 14-page report provides Pyramid Research's five-year forecast on smartphone adoption in Latin America and looks at vendor positioning, focusing on three cases, Nokia, Research in Motion, and Apple, while also examining relevant moves by operators and the strategies of the major handset vendors in the market, including marketing campaigns and bundles.

The smartphone segment will become one of the most important sources of data revenue growth over the next five years in Latin America, notes Omar Salvador, Senior Analyst at Pyramid and author of the report. "The market is still in its infancy, representing only 3% of total handset unit sales in 2008; globally the figure was 12%," he says. "However, Pyramid predicts the segment will grow from 7 million smartphones sold in 2009, representing 5.4% of total handsets sales, to 48 million in 2014, or 30% of the total," he adds.

"Given that Latin America's mobile subscriber growth rate declined from 24% in 2007 to 19% in 2008, operators are more interested than ever in increasing their ARPS and encouraging smartphone uptake is an excellent approach to reaching that goal," Salvador says. "Vivo, the leading player in Brazil, recently highlighted how crucial the smartphone base is to its data revenue growth, while smartphone vendors are stepping up competition in the region with aggressive tactics, including handset bundles, new models, expanded entry-level portfolios, and close cooperation with operators ," he adds.

If competition intensifies among vendors and operators, service bundling becomes more aggressive, the prices of entry-level smartphones fall below $100, and touchscreen phones become available in the midlevel price category, Pyramid believes smartphones can capture up to 39% of total handsets sales in 2014. "These growth drivers, supported by the growing 3G availability in Latin America, will push the Latin American smartphone market up toward the global average of smartphone handsets as a percentage of total handset sales," concludes Salvador.
www.pyr.com