Question

TOPIC: “An Analysis of the Smart Phone Market” Note: There are data on the Internet about the total sales and profits of major brands of smart phone. Choose the brands and a time period and analyze accordingly.

write an essay using the following guidelines.

• The paper length is at least 8 pages. The focus is on your ability to analyze a microeconomic topic. Graphs and tables will enhance the quality of your paper and may be part of the minimum page limit; however, references and footnotes must go to the end of the essay.   
• The structure of the paper is Introduction and Objective, Literature Review, Analysis, and Conclusions.                                                                                                          
• The introduction should be just 1-2 paragraphs long and must contain the objective of your paper. It should explain why the topic is relevant and what is the research question.   
• The literature review section is a review of similar works done by other authors. Here, you must quote references and link those references in alphabetic order at the end of your paper.
• The economic analysis section is your answer to the research question you set out to investigate. You should be able to use key microeconomic terms (TR, MR, MC, TP etc) to analyze the data and all information you have in the argument.   
• Use APA style consistent with economic analysis. Visit the following sites for more information on APA style:

Answer 1

INTRODUCTION

1. Definition of the smart phone

: Smartphone and mobile internet service usage by students has increased in the recent years and therefore presents a significant potential as learning tools. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the usage of smartphones for learning purposes among dental students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted at a teaching health-care institution in Telangana among dental undergraduate students. Data were collected about their smartphones and connections, general use of smartphones, smartphones for learning purposes, and their attitude toward smartphones for learning purposes. Descriptive statistics were calculated.

A smartphone is a new form of mobile Internet device that combines the traditional features of a phone and a PDA.2 Another noteworthy definition of a smartphone is that it is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a basic current mobile phone does.3 The common aspect of the two definitions is that a smartphone is an integrated device with mobile telephone technology and the ability to access the Internet. The smartphone first achieved both the functionality of a traditional phone and technology of a PC (see Figure 1). Unlike traditional phones, which are produced as finished goods, a smartphone enables users to install, add, and delete hundreds of applications. Through various applications, users can also personalize the interface. Hence, because smartphones allow free access to the Internet regardless of time and location, users of smartphones are entering an era of ubiquitous information

Objectives

• Majority of students use smartphones for educational purposes. It was observed that students prefer to access information from online resources to library. Therefore,
• this might present an opportunity for educators to design suitable teaching interventions and develop diverse learning approaches.
• Out of the 300 dental students, 259 students owned smartphones and 248 students had access to internet services.
• Most popular devices were Androids and iPhones. A total of 86% students used their smartphones to take photos and record their work. Majority (80%) of them used smartphones to obtain study material. Out of all the participants, 53% had apps related to dental education. Most of the students preferred their smartphones to library to access information and study materials. The attitude of the students was positive toward mobile learning, and majority of them expressed that smartphone usage for educational purposes should be encouraged by the college and staff.

Literature Review

2. Effect of smartphone popularization

The continuous progress and expansion of applications allow people to obtain the particular information they want. Users can acquire almost any type of information, such as information on the weather, locations, food, attraction, transportation, medicine, education, games, fashion, sports, and scientific research, without constraints of time and place. Users can also create a new form of social community, influence public opinion, and significantly improve the infrastructure and speed of social communication. Because this mobile generation has strong access to information and networking capabilities, the producer-driven consumption pattern is rapidly being replaced by a consumer-based consumption pattern. Accordingly, the need for customized information is expected to keep pace with change in the IT environment.

3. Radical transformation of the IT industry and the altered competitive situation

The overall structure of the IT industry is being reorganized, and competition in the industry is being expanded and diversified. The introduction of smartphones has spurred the creation of limitless IT-related markets such as the e-book, tablet PC, and net book markets. New entrants that are struggling to penetrate a market are faced with an urgent problem: overcome a lack of functional and technical conversance. At the same time, a new competitive structure has been formed by cell phone manufacturers, operating system providers, telecommunication distributers, and new application developers. Adopting new business models is imperative for existing companies to survive in the reorganized IT industry under its new competitive structure.

1. MARKET GROWTH OF THE SMART PHONE

1.1 History

Since 1996, when Nokia launched its groundbreaking product, the Nokia 9000, which was the first smartphone, the smartphone market has been grown rapidly. The Nokia 9000 Communicator was a combination of an HP-made PDA and a Nokia-made traditional phone. Next, Nokia released the Communicator 9210, which was equipped with the first color screen and open operating system. The 9500 model was the first camera phone by Nokia and was a genuine mobile Internet phone with access to the Internet via WI-FI4 . Since then, Nokia has led the global mobile phone market by combining its competitive cell phone and Symbian, which is an operating system5 developed by Nokia.

The first catalyst of the expansion of the smart phone market was the release of RIM’s Blackberry series in 2001. With its self-developed Blackberry Internet System, the Blackberry series gained sensational popularity in the North American business world by offering business-related services such as a push e-mail system, Internet faxing, web browsing, and navigation. The Blackberry series, which launched in 2002, marked the start of the epoch of the convergent phone. Since then, it has led the market alongside Nokia, attracting 800 million customers by 2007. The impetus for the expansion of the smartphone market was the release of Apple’s innovative iPhone in July. 2008. Apple led an innovative transformation of smartphones with cutting-edge technologies of multitasking, high-resolution screens, wide screens, and customized web browsing, based on its own software technology. The transformation represented enormous progress for mobile Internet devices. Later, Google introduced its Android operating system to companies such as HTC, Motorola, and Samsung Electronics.

1.2 Market growth

While the global traditional phone market faces an ongoing recession due to the global economic downturn, the smartphone market continues its rapid growth. Since 2007, a portion of the smart phone market for the global cell phone industry is expanding in terms of sales volume as well as total sales. According to research conducted by Credit Suisse in December, 2007, while the rate of global cell phone market growth would repeatedly fluctuate up and down during the following four years, the smartphone market would experience tremendous growth. A striking point is that it was predicted that the smartphone market would make up nearly 50% of the entire cell phone market in 2010 in terms of total sales.

The latest research places smartphone sales volume growth for the first fiscal quarter (Q1) of 2010 between 56% and 67% growth with variance depending on research institutes. An IDC report estimates that 54 million units were sold, and a Canalys report estimated that 55 million units were sold. According to Coda Research Consultancy, total sales volume of the smartphone is expected to be 234 million units in 2010 and 619 million units in 2015

Analysis

latest market Analysis:

the smartphone market in India grew 14.5 per cent in 2018 with shipment of 142.3 million units, as per research firm IDC.
In the previous year, shipment stood at 124.3 million units

• During the December quarter, smartphone shipment expanded 19.5 per cent year-on-year to 36.3 million units from 30.3 million units in the same period the previous year, driven primarily by multiple rounds of sales by e-tailers beyond the festive Diwali period lasting into December.

However, shipment numbers in December 2018 quarter were down 15.1 per cent compared to the July-September 2018 period, owing to high channel inventory

"Amongst the big highlights of 2018 were the online-focused brands that drove the share of the online channel to an (annual) all-time high of 38.4 per cent in 2018 and a whopping 42.2 per cent in Q4 2018," IDC India Associate Research Manager (Client Devices) Upasana Joshi said. She added that this was primarily driven by several rounds of discounts by e-tailers driving affordability through various financing options, cashback offers and buyback schemes. .IDC said "the offline channel had a rather muted year with a modest 6.7 per cent annual growth in 2018 and growing 5 per cent sequentially in Q4 2018".

"The offline channel was unable to keep pace with the deep discounts and go-to-market initiatives from the e-tailers almost throughout the year," IDC said adding that offline still remains the largest channel for mobile phone distribution in India and is crucial for the long-term success for any brand in India.

IDC Associate Research Director (client devices and IPDS), Navkendar Singh said almost all the brands which were able to find traction in 2018 via e-tailers partnerships have already started their offline foray to establish themselves for the long-term. "This has become more crucial as the new e-commerce guidelines come into force from 1st February 2019."

.Under the new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules for online marketplaces, such e-commerce companies, among other provisions, are barred from exclusive tie-ups with brands.
Xiaomi led the top three players' tally in the fourth quarter and full year (28.9 per cent share for both time periods), followed by Samsung that had 18.7 per cent share in December quarter and 22.4 per cent share in the entire year. Vivo had 9.7 per cent share in the fourth quarter and 10 per cent share for the full year.

• IDC said the average selling price remained flat in 2018 at USD 158, with high shipments in the mass segment of USD 100-200 accounting for more than half of the smartphone market in India.
• .The premium end of the market (above USD 500) outgrew all other price segments in 2018 with 43.9 per cent YoY growth, although it still constitutes a meagre 3 per cent share of the overall smartphone market," Joshi said.
• OnePlus emerged as the leader in USD 500-700 segment.
• Indian smartphone market expands 14.5 pc in 2018: IDC This was primarily driven by Jio Phone shipments through the year, contributing to 36.1 per cent of the overall feature phone shipments, IDC said.

India Smartphone Market Share

This data represents the Indian smartphone market share by quarter (from 2016-2018) by top OEMs. The Indian market is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets worldwide.

2018 Smartphone Market Share

• India’s overall mobile phone shipments grew 11% and smartphone shipments grew 10% with feature phones growing faster (11%) than smartphones during 2018
• In terms of revenue, the market grew even faster with a growth rate of 19% during the year with Samsung, Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO and Apple being the market leaders by revenue.
• Jio was the overall market leader across all handset types in 2018, with a market share of 21%.
• Samsung has been holding the pole position by shipments in the smartphone market since 2012 when it dethroned Nokia. It was also the category leader in feature phones since 2015.

• Smartphone segment contributed to half of the total handset market during Q3 2018.
• Top five brands captured 77% share of the total smartphone market during the quarter.
• In the smartphone segment, Xiaomi recorded its highest ever shipments in India in a single quarter driven by the new Redmi 6 series and expansion in offline channels.
• Samsung record shipments were driven by J series. Demand for J6 and J8 remained strong. Apart from this it also launched the Android Go edition, Galaxy J2 core, giving it a much-needed offering in the sub $100 segment.

• Smartphone segment contributed to half of the total handset market during Q2 2018.
• Top five brands captured a record 82% share of the total smartphone market during the quarter
• Apple had a slow quarter as it underwent changes in its distribution strategy. Apart from this, its domestic assembling is yet to pick-up pace, which means the Cupertino giant is still relying on imports for its sales in India.
• Xiaomi recorded its highest ever shipments in India during Q2 2018. The growth can be attributed to its strong product and supply chain strategy that has allowed it to launch products with a longer shelf-life than its competitors and that too in the important sub INR 10000 (<US$150) segment.

• The Indian mobile phone market grew by 48% YoY in Q1 2018 driven by strong demand from the featurephone segment. The smartphone market remained flat YoY.
• The performance of Chinese brands remained strong, accounting for 57% of the total smartphone market in Q1 2018, up from 53% during Q1 2017. This is the highest ever contribution by Chinese players in the Indian smartphone market.
• Huawei’s Honor brand captured the fifth position for the first time ever, in the Indian smartphone market due to the strong performance of Honor 9 Lite and Honor 7X across online channels.

2017 Smartphone Market Share

• India mobile handset and smartphone market grew by 37% and 12% YoY driven by strong demand from the featurephone and smartphone segment in 2017 Q4.
• Xiaomi became the number one brand in India, surpassing Samsung who led the past 24 straight quarters. A broad product line-up in the right price category along with a strong go to market strategy helped Xiaomi achieve this feat.
• Chinese brands performance remained strong throughout the year and captured 54% smartphone market share in CY 2017 up from 34% during CY 2016.
• Average selling price of the overall smartphone market grew 13% YoY due to an increased mix of mid-segment phones.

4. CONCLUSION

The smart phone is no longer the exclusive property of early adopter. Streamlining mobile Internet and 3G mobile communications has opened up boundless possibility for the smart phone, and the innovative idea toward the mobile Internet world leads this generation to the genuine ubiquitous world by the innovativeness of the smartphone. Users are now able to handle almost all of the activities in everyday life with small mobile Internet solutions in their hands. If the development of the Internet made the world into one large community, the popularization of the smartphone will return the world to a multipolar Internet world, which is much more diversified and personalized. Numerous customized Internet worlds will emerge. Regardless of popular opinion, it is evident that smartphones have brought a new era to the IT industry.

IT business should find new ways to keep pace with the changing IT environment. As the core value of the cell phone market is transformed from hardware to software, existing cell phone makers that possess powerful hardware competitiveness in the traditional phone manufacturing market are required to invent new survival strategies. New software makers need to target an operating system and a content market at the same time, developing a unique distinction. Finally, related-IT businesses in the smartphone market will design a winwin strategy by seeking a strategic partnership or merger. In the long-term, one or two players who succeed in consolidating manufacturing, operating systems, and the contents market will be victorious in the smartphone market

I have discussed the history and effects of the smartphone, and presented a market analysis and competitive analysis. Based on these analyses, I have also examined the strategies of the major players. The popularization of the smartphone has had a great influence on our lives and the IT environment. If the smartphone is going to remain successfully and be popular in the future, it will be a continuing issue for our society. Although this paper focuses on the field of business and community, because the smartphone has had a great effect on every corner of society, I try to illustrate possible issues related to the popularization of the smart phone other than business issue.

It seems that smartphone-related research can be largely divided into three areas: the technological requirements of smartphones, business viewpoints on the IT industry, and a socio-human approach in a sense of the beginning of mobile Internet society. This paper focused on business rather than on technological and socio-human analysis. In particular, it seems that the social change resulting from the popularization of smartphones is a meaningful research topic. On this topic, macro-social research could be conducted in terms of social transformations due to the advent of the mobile Internet era. The pros and cons of popularization of the smartphone in various areas of society such as administration, education, mass media, crime, and information could be important topics in macro-social research on the effects of the smartphone.

In ubiquitous era, a human approach is also necessary. In the viewpoint of humanity, value change, subordination of human intelligence, and cognizance problem by simplified life styles resulting from the smartphones are thought to be meaningful to research in the future. Personally, as a student majoring in management and philosophy, I am very interested to compare three important dimensions in modern society: technology, management, and humanity. Technology plants the seed for innovative change in life. Exceptional management skills realize technology throughout everyday life. Humanity warns of the negative possibilites resulting from the other two aspects. I think it is the smart phone that makes modern people think of these three perspectives.

The smartphone has overcome the previous limitations on IT technology. While we are still deciding whether the smartphone is of benefit to us, we are living in the IT world and are given no choice but to receive IT benefits. Ultimately, we anticipate how the smartphone will transform our lives even more and predict what IT device awaits us next.