The rate of new smartphone upgrades is declining. Which is why T-Mobile and AT&T most likely have developed new upgrade options and carriers are trying to find new ways to market their smartphones.
UBS reported that last year when about 68 million people upgraded their phones in the U.S., down more than 9% from a year earlier.
The latest stats from Gartner show a decline in PC shipments but overall increase in tablets, smartphones and ultramobiles.
The big movers will be tablets with shipments expected to grow 67.9 percent, with shipments reaching 202 million units in 2103.
Amazon Kindle tablets have grown in popularity due to competitive pricing and the Amazon content eco-system. It appears that Amazon is working on a Kindle phone and if it's priced right, could be a great choice vs the Nexus 4 for a cheap unlocked phone with great specs.
Although Samsung's dominance in the smartphone market hasn't hit the major carriers in the United States, yet(AT&T, Sprint & Verizon), it is taken on the world of smartphones with shipments beating all of its closest competitors combined. Samsung also is also the top vendor for all wireless phones, in the world, too. It looks like the Samsung Galaxy in ruling the whole wireless device universe!
Two major reports show how fast Samsung has taken over the smartphone and handset market due to such hits as the Samsung Galaxy S III/Note. They also report that Samsung should continue to dominate the market as long as there are no supply shortages.
Google released its Wireless Shopper Study for April 2013 and it showed some major trends in smartphone buying and shopping. Shoppers search for the device weeks before buying and now that many devices are available across carriers, they decide on the device first and then may change carriers for the best deal, especially if there is no contract necessary or the device has 4G LTE data access.
Over a third (35%) shop for the latest and greatest device which is more than the 25% who did so last year. The number one reason people shop for a new wireless device is that the can upgrade (42%). Other important factors are: