Smartphone demand rises in Indonesia

JAKARTA: Devices powered by Google's Android operating system have assumed a leading position in the Indonesian smartphone sector, where category sales are rising rapidly.

According to IDC, the insights provider, handsets run by Android – offered by more than ten vendors, including Samsung, HTC and Sony – took a 52% majority of the market during the last quarter.

"The increase in shipments of Android-based phones in Indonesia is driven not just by its affordability but also the broad range of applications and growing popularity of touchscreens," said Darwin Lie, market analyst for client devices research at IDC Indonesia.

In brand terms, BlackBerry, made by Research in Motion, retained the number one spot, although shipment levels fell by 6% quarter on quarter in Q2, partly due to the delayed roll out of the BlackBerry 10.

"The delay in the launch of BlackBerry 10, which is causing buyers to wait until 2013 for new models, has also contributed an impact to the change in OS preference," said Lie.

Overall, the Indonesian mobile phone sector expanded by 10% quarter on quarter and 25% year on year in Q2 2012, with demand for both smartphones and feature phones remaining strong.

For the year as a whole, IDC expects smartphone shipments to surpass the 7m benchmark, assisted by the introductions of new devices costing as little as $50.

Meanwhile, some 45m feature phones, which are especially popular in rural markets, should enter the market this year. Cross and MITO, two local brands, are increasingly pressuring Nokia in this segment.

Data sourced from IDC; additional content by Warc staff, 17 September 2012

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