Accessories Assume a Larger Role in Mobility Solutions

(Business News & Technology News, 27 Jun 2007)

Global demand for aftermarket mobile device accessories reached $5.9 billion in supplier shipment revenue in 2006 and is estimated to reach nearly $15.1 billion by 2011, according to Venture Development Corporation¡¯s recently released report, Mobile Device Accessories: Global Market Demand Analysis. Among the many trends shaping this market, three might be called most important and persistent:

- Consumer and enterprise segment demand for more powerful and user-friendly mobile solutions;
- Advances in number of wireless and peripheral input/ output technologies; and
- Specialization among mobile accessories vendors and a corresponding proliferation of offerings.

The mobile device accessories market is expected to grow nearly 15 percent per year in revenue terms; this is 50 percent, or 5 percentage points, higher than the larger Enterprise Mobility (EMOB) device market, which is forecast to grow just under 10 percent per year in revenue terms. Looking at the EMOB device market, one can see that changes in those devices are having a significant, positive impact on mobile device accessory demand. Smaller screen size and reduced size keyboard layouts are often cited by enterprise network managers as barriers to their operators being able to effectively utilize new generations of mobile enterprise applications. Mobile device users in the consumer segment also cite these factors as barriers to accessing an expanding list of services available on their mobile devices. Thus, they are turning to accessories¡ªboth general and application-specific.

The consumer sector share of the total market is expected to grow by 6 percent through 2011. With near-zero return on investment or total cost of ownership requirements to supporting new applications, consumers are experimenting with and signing up for new services far more rapidly than their counterparts. VDC's Casey Holmes said: "This movement progresses hand-in-hand with the explosion of personalization accessories being offered by a growing list of mobile device accessory suppliers. The consumer segment of the accessories market overlaps with the enterprise in delivering functionality, however the consumer market is leading the way with a host of demographic-segment-specific colors, materials, features and configurations."

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