This IDC study presents the five-year forecast for worldwide mobile phone shipments by device vendor for 2007–2011. Having surpassed a record one billion handsets shipped in 2006, IDC expects the worldwide phone market to continue to grow at a 2006–2011 CAGR of 6.9% to break 1.4 billion units shipped. New handsets shipped into emerging markets and upgrade handsets in both emerging markets and mature markets are driving growth. Regional dynamics, stemming from handset pricing and subsidies to features and high-bandwidth networks, will force vendors to closely scrutinize production in order to realize both market share and profitability.

"The growth in mobile phone shipments will be powered by new users in emerging markets, allowing the market to reach the next billion users," says Chris Hazelton, senior analyst in IDC's Mobile Device Technology and Trends service. "However, mature markets will also experience growth from users upgrading to mobile phones that offer advances in mobile Internet, navigation, rich messaging, and video.