The worldwide mobile phone market reached a new milestone at the close of 2006, with more than one billion units shipped worldwide over the year. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 1.019 billion units in 2006, or 22.5% more than the 832.8 million units they shipped in 2005. For the quarter ending December 31, 2006, vendors shipped a total of 294.9 million units, or 19.7% more than the 246.4 million units they shipped during 4Q05. This also marked a record shipment volume for a single quarter.

"Emerging markets contributed to the high volume sales," said Ramon Llamas, research analyst in IDC's Mobile Technology and Tracking team. "It was not long ago that shipments into mature markets, including Japan, North America, and Western Europe, consumed the majority of devices shipped worldwide. More recently, however, device shipments into emerging economies in Asia/Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America have surpassed shipments to mature markets, and the difference between the two continues to grow."

While mass handsets for emerging markets were a key factor in fourth quarter results, there were some very innovative and stimulating technologies introduced to the world of mobility. Location-based services have come to life across many regions, with Nokia's acquisition of Gate5, a leading supplier of mapping and navigation services, reinforcing this trend. Meanwhile, the so-called prosumer space also gained salience with the launch of the Pearl from Research In Motion.

"We believe the Pearl was a trend-setting device because it was the first pro(con)sumer release from a company that has always been associated with strictly business-focused users," said Ryan Reith, research analyst in IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracking Group. "It is no secret that the vast majority of people in society use email, regardless of their profession, and a device like this has made mobile email more of a reality. Elsewhere, mobile TV, which has been talked about for many years, is finally coming to the forefront in select markets. It now appears that mobile advertising will play a key role in the adoption of mobile TV by consumers, although a lot remains to be said about how consumers will take to this. Finally, location-based services are now gaining traction in the industry and leading vendors are moving to provide comprehensive, end-to-end solutions. Shipments of GPS-enabled handsets are certain to grow in most regions in 2007."