ABI stats say half of consumers would replace their phones with a Mobile Internet Device.
The firm surveyed more than 1000 adult consumers in the US, and found almost half said they would abandon their mobiles, while 34 per cent said they would continue to use one.ABI Research believes that some people will value a separate device with a bigger screen for the web browsing, that they can choose when to carry.
The trend for MIDs has been propelled by devices such as the iTouch and Samsung Q1, and its effect is being seen in large touchscreen phones like the Toshiba TG01 announced yesterday.
“This is going to become a question for MID vendors and consumers alike,” said Philip Solis, principal analyst at ABI Research. “There will be little difference between a smartphone such as the Palm Pre which uses an OMAP 3 processor and a MID with cellular voice, except for screen size. Understanding of what consumers want from stand-alone MIDs without cellular voice will be important.”
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