Seeds of a smartphone shift
Like cartoon coyotes that draw themselves to full height before an exaggerated pounce on prey, handset vendors have offered little this year – but portended much – before an expected lunge at the market.
Major vendors, particularly smartphone purveyors, have largely passed up the first two industry gatherings of the year to introduce new devices, while promising greatness to come. Based on flagging consumer demand – forecasts for the overall handset market in the first quarter run as dismal as negative 25% year-on-year growth – this calm-before-the-storm, whether intentional or not, will soon give way to white-hot competition in the smartphone segment.
