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Feb 28 2014
Mobility

The Smartphone Market Is Officially Saturated

With 200 million smartphones in North America, what’s next for the mobile industry?
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Jimmy is a writer and editor who publishes a weekly newsletter. You can find him on Twitter.

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200 Million Smartphones in North America: The Market Is Officially Saturated

Prepare to say goodbye to staggering mobile growth. Why? Because soon everyone will have a mobile device, and the unprecedented sales numbers we’ve become accustomed to will be a thing of the past. Instead, smartphone prices could drop significantly, according to Campus Technology:

The era of double-digit growth in smart phone adoption is coming to a close as devices approach the saturation point, which in turn will lead to drops in prices, according to new research. In North America alone, some 200 million smart phones are already in active use — one for about every 2.75 people residing on the continent and about one-seventh of the world's total active devices.

According to International Data Corp., in mature markets like the United States and Europe, smart phone growth will drop to the single digits in 2014, while, worldwide, growth will drop in half to about 19.3 percent for the year. (That follows growth of 39.2 percent in 2013 on 1 billion unit shipments. Shipments in 2014 are currently forecast at about 1.2 billion units.)

By 2017, total worldwide growth will slow to 8.3 percent, and by 2018 6.2 percent.

In turn, the average selling price of a smart phone will decline by 5 percent, or $75, by 2018, according to IDC.

Samsung Announces Galaxy S5

Speaking of smartphones, Samsung announced the Galaxy S5 this week. Check out The Verge’s hands-on video.

IBM’s Watson: Coming to a Smartphone Near You

IBM is sponsoring a contest that will award developers with a chance to put Watson’s impressive technology into an app. To learn more and register, check out the official Watson website. And watch Watson whip Jeopardy millionaires Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, below:

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