Android-device sales up 400pc across Southeast Asia

Android is reported to be making significant gains as ‘the more affordable’ smartphone option in Southeast Asia. The region is becoming well known for large number of mobile internet users, as mobile technology continues to leapfrog less mature fixed-line telephony to provide mass market internet access.

From a ZDnet Asia article:

Gerard Tan, GfK Asia’s regional account director for telecommunications, reiterated the Huawei executives’ position on Android’s popularity.

Android smartphone sales in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have been growing quickly, he said. In these markets, sales of Android-based handsets grew from about US$1 million from January to February this year to US$11.8 million four months later in June, added Tan.

GfK Asia’s research is just one of many reports that have pointed to Android’s quick uptake in the market, and many analysts have foreseen its dominance in the smartphone segment. 

Investment bank and institutional securities firm Piper Jaffray, for one, said the multiple devices running Android OS will control largely half the overall smartphone market in the long run, while Apple’s iOS will take about 20 to 30 percent of the market share.

This increase in revenue this year is huge – with sales across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines rising from an average of US$500,000 per month to close to $2,000,000 per month.

I’ve blogged extensively on the short-fallings of the iPhone and BlackBerry devices in developing markets across the Southeast Asian region.

With the two more glamorous and trendy phones priced at the upper reaches of the smartphone market, there is space for devices to enter the market offering the benefits of smartphones at a more affordable price.

In some ways the smartphone market in Southeast Asia is beginning to resemble the PC market, with a growing standardisation of smartphone features, although app store content varies across operating systems. Essentially, a person wanting access to social networks, email, music/photo/basic file storage and a camera has a plethora of options available with Android based devices – such as those by Wellcome mobile in Thailand – forming one example of more affordable devices that provide a quality user experience.

The ZDNet article goes to explain how Chinese manufacturer Huawei is one company “reaping the rewards” of Android, with Southeast Asia a major target for additional growth and increased market share. Other manufacturers using the Open Handset Alliance’s Android OS are likely to see strong progress through association with the growing brand.

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