The smartphone is evolving to become a mobile Internet device, with cellular voice communication just one function of the converged appliance, and Chinese consumers are responding to its capabilities, reports In-Stat. The Chinese smartphone market grew by 37.7% in 2007, with total shipments of 14.4 million. The introduction of feature-rich mobile Internet service and GPS-based services will fuel the market over the next several years.
A recent report by the high-tech market research firm found the following:
* Revolutionary UI and UE, enabled by touchscreen and 3D sensor technologies, will be widely used in the next generation of smartphones.
* Smartphone shipments in China are expected to hit 33 million in 2012.
* The GPS-enabled Smartphone is in its infancy, but will have an increasing impact on the Smartphone market during the forecast period.
