Touchscreen Smartphones Skyrocket for Business; Sales Will Top 355 Million by 2015 
Global sales of smartphones with full touchscreens will reach 355 million units by 2015, up from 46 million in 2009, according to a report by Strategy Analytics. A related report found more and more people using their personal mobile device for business hit the highest level ever in 2010, and predicts that trend to continue.
Global sales of smartphones with full touchscreens will reach 355 million units by 2015, up from 46 million in 2009, according to a report by Strategy Analytics. A related report found more and more people using their personal mobile device for business hit the highest level ever in 2010, and predicts that trend to continue
This explosion may prompt a change in IT attitudes toward the use of mobile devices in the enterprise. While more than half of IT managers (57%) denied personal devices from connecting to corporate systems, a big majority (75%) are “very concerned” about separating personal data from business data on smartphones, according to the reports.
“The greatest security concern continues to be a matter of content,” said Andrew Brown Director of Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Enterprise Strategies unit.
Many companies aren’t able to manage what happens when an employee leaves with a personal device that had been connected to the company network, Brown said. Some 63% of companies simply “trust” users to remove company data from their phones when they leave the company, he added.
Rapid changes in form factors, driven by mobile innovators such as Apple, account for some of the blending of personal/business use patterns, the report found.
“Smartphone form factors have undergone a rapid period of transition in the past three years, switching from keypad-centric designs to slate designs with full touchscreens due to the success of the Apple iPhone,” said Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.
“Smartphone form factors have switch[ed] from keypad-centric designs to slate designs with full touchscreens due to the success of the Apple iPhone.”
Tom Kang
Director
Strategy Analytics
The rapid growth in smartphones with full touchscreens will spur delivery of richer user-experiences for mobile consumers, according to the “Global Smartphone Sales Forecast by Form Factor: 2004 to 2015. The report find four (4) primary form factors in the smartphone industry as Bar, Slate, Clamshell and Slider.
Each form factor is further categorized by three major input methods (12 key, QWERTY and touchscreen), the report found.
