The market for mobile accessories will grow at an average rate of 10.5% per year from 2012 through until 2017, according to figures from ABI Research.
It says the total revenue generated worldwide by mobile accessories will reach $62 billion in 2017.
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South Korean telecom company KT has unveiled a mobile phone attachment called the Spider Laptop. Although it looks like a conventional laptop with an 11-inch screen and QWERTY keyboard, the accessory has no central processing unit or stand-alone operating system because it’s designed to extend the features of a smartphone.
The first version of the Spider Laptop was developed in partnership with Samsung and can connect to a Samsung Galaxy SIII with a single cable.
Black days for BlackBerry?
Mark Bridge writes:
BlackBerry and bad news seem inextricably linked at the moment. RIM’s CEO admits he’s “not satisfied” with recent company performance and warns of challenging times ahead... and then the company is hit by a $147 million dollar damages order for patent infringement.
Mind you, Research In Motion wasn’t the only mobile company bringing disappointment into the mainstream news last week.
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From 10 million units this year to over 100 million by 2017
A new report from Juniper Research says ‘smart accessories’ that connect with mobile phones will become a major new market for manufacturers over the next five years. Examples of these wireless accessories include health monitoring equipment, fitness accessories and payment devices.
It forecasts that just over 10 million task-specific smart devices will be produced this year, with annual sales expected to exceed 100 million units by 2017.
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Mark Bridge writes:
Is there any product that offers as much potential for additional sales as the mobile phone?
When I visit a coffee shop to buy a coffee, I’m often asked “would you like any pastries or muffins with that?”
On the one occasion that I bought a new car, I was offered the option of paying extra for different colours, for floor mats and for a fancy stereo. When you buy a DVD player or a games console, it’s pretty obvious you’ll be paying extra for entertainment.
Yet, when you consider the variety of add-ons available in the mobile industry, I’d say smartphones were in a league of their own.