Africa to attract more ICT investment in 2014

Investments in ICT are expect to increase in 20144 in Africa as both public and private spending rises and local content businesses partner with larger operators and tech companies, according to IDC.

Adoption of data analytics and cloud services is expected to be a main driver of growth on the continent, IDC said in a year-end report.

"In the year ahead, business models based on mobility, internet and cloud will grow quickly but local constraints will cause this to be in fits and starts and regional pockets; the most important events in 2014 will continue to cluster around growth and innovation, built on mobile devices, cloud services, social technologies and Big Data analytics," IDC said.

Africa has had massive growth in mobile phone usage and IDC expects mobile technologies to catalyze investment, with mobile enterprise applications a leading priority.

Governments will also invest in fiber-optic cables, public services, content and governance and compliance oversight to ensure the security of transactions online.

Countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and Nigeria, in cooperation with international developmental agencies, academia and ICT vendors, have made considerable investments in ICT infrastructure and IDC expects this to benefit local startups that have had problems sustaining and running successful businesses.

source: www.news.idg.no

U.S smartphone buyers moving upscale while others goes cheap

Smartphone prices are falling in every region of the world except North America, as U.S. consumers buy ever more sophisticated handsets.

Market research firm IDC forecast Tuesday that smartphone prices worldwide will fall at a compound annual rate of 7.3% over the next five years. But in North America, it sees average selling prices for smartphones increasing 2.1%. It's the only region where prices are expected to rise, IDC says.

Smartphone prices in the U.S. and Canada are already the most expensive in the world, with an average selling price of $531 this year. But IDC sees that creeping up to $567 by 2017 as consumers upgrade to phones with bigger displays and 4G LTE wireless capabilities. Premium phones from Apple, Samsung and others are seen driving this trend.

We're a market that's moving away from entry-level smartphones and toward higher-end smartphones," IDC analyst Ramon Llamas told IBD. "We're moving more toward LTE, and LTE smartphones usually command a higher price tag than 3G phones. On top of that, you're seeing phones getting bigger and bigger (displays)."

Apple's latest flagship handset, the iPhone 5S, without a wireless service contract, costs $649, $749 and $849 for models with 16, 32 and 64 gigabytes of flash memory.

In the rest of the world, smartphone average selling prices are seen falling rapidly as handset makers produce lower-cost devices for poorer customers. These devices typically use Google 's  free-to-use Android operating system.

Average selling prices for smartphones worldwide, including North America, are seen falling to $265 in 2017 from $337 this year.

In the Asia-Pacific region, prices are forecast to drop 8.9% to $215 over the next five years. In Europe, smartphone prices are seen falling 9% to $259 during that period. In Latin America, smartphone prices are expected to dip 5.7% to $246. And in the Middle East and Africa, smartphone prices are forecast to decline 7.3% to $230 by 2017, IDC says.

Meanwhile, worldwide smartphone unit shipments are seen rising at a compound annual growth rate of 18.4% from this year to 2017, IDC says. The research firm expects smartphone shipments to surpass 1 billion units in 2013, up 39.3% over last year, and approach 1.7 billion units in 2013.

source: news.investors.com