GfK reports the growth momentum of Southeast Asia’s smartphone market continuing rapidly with all seven key markets in the region reporting a total of about 7.7 million units worth $2.4 billion being snapped in the first three months of 2012. The smartphone revolution is in full swing but not all consumers are fully converted yet as one in three mobile phones sold last quarter was still a feature phone.
According to GfK Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Cambodia registered spikes in demand for smartphones in the range of 40 to 400 percent more over the same period last year. One interesting fact is coming up that today make up more than seven in ten (71%) smartphones—a considerable jump from last year’s 47 percent.
“The largest smartphone market in this region expectedly is Indonesia which has a smartphone penetration rate of 62 percent and enjoyed sales exceeding USD1.4 billion last quarter,” commented Mr. Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital Technology at GfK Asia. “Meanwhile, the markets with deepest smartphone penetration are Malaysia and Singapore where levels have already reached a high of 88 percent, translating to almost nine out of every ten in the general population being a smartphone user.”
The reports revealed that over 35 percent of all smartphones sold in Southeast Asia in the first three months of the year were equipped with a camera of eight megapixels or more, as compared to figures one year ago which was only 12 percent. This mounting trend is especially apparent in Cambodia (70%), Singapore (67%) and Malaysia (58%).