Smartphones seem to be doing very well, with the devices surpassing the growth in the overall mobile market. According to new research from Canalys, shipments of smart mobile devices grew from 3.6 million in the first half of 2004 to 9.6 million in the first half of 2005. This represents a 170 percent year-on-year rise in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market. Why is this happening? Well, in many cases, customers are simply upgrading to the latest high-specification phone, which will be a smart phone, whether they knew they wanted one or not. In addition to this, a rapid rise in mobile e-mail solutions is driving shipments into enterprises.
"Mobile e-mail usage is a growth driver for the business market that is spreading down to the consumer market," Byte Level Research analyst John Yunker told TechNewsworld. "Some think other digital content will be factor, but from where I sit e-mail is the killer app."