On Wednesday, the latest data and corresponding projections from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker indicated that the mobile phone market is on pace to grow 7.3% year over year in 2013.
This acceleration of growth would mark a sharp rebound from the nearly flat (1.2%) growth experienced in 2012, IDC reports.
Strong demand for smartphones across all geographies will drive much of this growth as worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to surpass 1 billion units for the first time in a single year.
“The overall mobile phone market is growing faster than previously forecast thanks to a stronger-than-expected first half of the year driven by strong gains in emerging markets and the sub-$200 smartphone segment,” a statement from IDC reads.
Previously, IDC projected 5.8% growth for the year.
As of this writing, vendors are now forecast to ship more than 1.8 billion mobile phones in the 2013 calendar year. That number is expected to reach 2.3 billion in 2017.
