Android is set to achieve a new high-water mark in mobile this year as smartphones powered by the little green robot will top one billion unit sales during the 2014 calendar year.
Most promising for makers of Android devices is the projection that Android will wholly dominate the emerging markets of the world within three years.
By 2017, over 75 percent of Android’s volumes will come from emerging markets, Gartner projects.
“The device market continues to evolve, with buyers deciding which combination of devices is required to meet their wants and needs. Mobile phones are a must have and will continue to grow but at a slower pace, with opportunities moving away from the top-end premium devices to mid-end basic products,” says Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.
“Meanwhile,” Atwal adds, “users continue to move away from the traditional PC (notebooks and desk-based) as it becomes more of a shared content creation tool, while the greater flexibility of tablets, hybrids and lighter notebooks address users’ increasingly different demands.”
Overall, mobile phones are expected to dominate total global device shipments, with 1.9 billion mobile phones shipped in 2014, a five percent increase from 2013.
