2008 will be a year where
Ultra Mobile Devices (UMD) continue to build out their
ecosystems and begin to establish themselvesas the web-enabled device of choicecompared with laptops and desktop PCs, according to
research by In-Stat.
The analyst predicts that UMDs will likely exhibit a 72.6% sales
growth in 2008. This compares with a predicted Mobile PC growth of
15.4% and a flattened desktop PC market which will pick up only in
2010. In addition, the firm say that non-computer makers are making
plays by entering the mobile Internet space and are even labelling
their products "UMDs."
In-Stat believes that the key driver for such growth of UMDs
—defined as ultra mobile PCs, mobile Internet devices, a percentage
of high-end smartphones, and a percentage of high-end personal
media players—will be technology companies’ efforts to adjust to
the macro-economic effects of tightened credit, flat wage growth,
and job losses.
However, before the growth will happen, there are key challenges
for UMD manufacturers. "For UMDs, concerns remain in the areas of
infrastructure and the
availability of connectivity beyond Wi-Fi" says Ian Lao,
In-Stat analyst.
Also of concern are the development of sustainable business
models (whereby all levels of the ecosystem may make money without
crushing the consumer with high prices); form factors that are
conducive to, and align tightly with, specific usages; interfaces
that are intuitive and provide pleasant, repeatable user
experiences.