200 Million Ultra-mobile Devices to Ship in 2013

(Top News, 25 Sep 2008)

From a virtual "standing start" of just 10 million units in 2008, shipments of ultra-mobile devices (UMDs—the umbrella term for ultra-mobile PCs, netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices or MIDs) are expected to exceed 200 million in 2013.

"The UMD market will still be small compared to the wireless handset market, but with a forecast revenue of nearly $27 billion in 2013, it will certainly be significant," says Philip Solis, ABI Research principal analyst.

While netbooks account for about 90 percent of today's UMD market, they will fall to a distant second place by 2013, while MID shipments surge ahead to take nearly 68 percent of the market, with Ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) remaining a niche category.

To put the UMD market forecasts into perspective, the 2013 estimate of 200 million shipped devices is roughly the anticipated size of the worldwide laptop PC market.

"As this market enters its rapid growth phase and starts to evolve, we will see considerable experimentation with different distribution channels: some will sell direct from the manufacturer, some via retail outlets, and some through mobile operators who will subsidize them to encourage new data plan subscriptions," Solis continues.

Click here for more information on ABI Research