SA smartphone trends for 2012: Cellular CEOs respond
Smartphones are all the rage with Apple’s iPhone, Android and BlackBerry battling it out for market share.
The popularity of smartphones is clearly visible in Vodacom’s latest figures which showed that the company added almost 900 000 smartphones between April and September 2011.
“We now have 4.1 million smartphones in South Africa, so these are big drivers behind the data story, and this will just continue and it will accelerate,” said Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys in November last year.
MyBroadband BusinessTech caught up with two of South Africa’s most respected cellular leaders to get their views on what they think the biggest trends will be in the South African smartphone market in 2012.
MTN SA CEO Karel Pienaar says that they don’t only consider the smartphone market, but the whole spectrum of smart devices which includes tablets and “in between” such as the Galaxy note.
“The utility of smart devices – in terms of screen size and battery life – will continue to evolve to meet end-user requirements for rich data service consumption,” says Pienaar.
“The barriers to adoption of smart devices are decreasing, and the introduction of low-cost smartphones will contribute to data traffic growth on networks. This provides the opportunity to deliver relevant consumer and business applications and services on a segmented level.”
Pienaar says that from an operating system perspective, there will be a space for each one within segments.
“Android will be a key competitor in the consumer space, while Apple will occupy the niche consumer segments. Blackberry (RIM) continues to dominate and has established a space for itself in the South African consumer and business markets,” says Pienaar.
“Key, from an operating system perspective, is the ability to support the development and delivery of customer relevant applications in a manner that provides a superb customer experience.”
As networks evolve and ubiquitous access to high speed broadband is improved, smart devices will evolve to support “personal cloud” services, says Pienaar. “These smart devices require a strong, capable network for seamless experience – hence our continued investment in our network.”
Cell C’s new CEO Alan Knott-Craig explains that smartphones are becoming increasingly affordable, making it possible for a larger part of the population to become data and application savvy.
“Smartphones are to vanilla cellphones what cellphones were to fixed line phones ten years ago. They are simply the new cellphone, which will replace all other phones, until a smarter smartphone evolves,” says Knott-Craig.
“So the demand for data-hungry apps and a greater involvement in social networks by all will simply add enormous pressure for lower prices and higher speeds.”
The new Cell C CEO however warns that the role of the regulator in the allocation of spectrum in this new wave will be crucial.
“If the regulator gets it right, the entire country will benefit. If the regulator gets it wrong, it all goes clunk!” Knott-Craig concluded.
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