Worldwide sales of smartphones and tablets will soar past the 1 billion-unit threshold in 2013, while the Android, Apple iOS, and Windows 8 operating systems will spark a multiyear surge in mobile device purchases by businesses, the information technology research and consulting company Gartner forecast Tuesday.
In a news release issued in conjunction with the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, Gartner projected that global sales of tablets and smartphones will total 821 million units this year, then jump nearly 50%, to 1.2 billion, in 2013. Smart devices will account for 70% of all mobile device sales next year, Gartner said.
The rise of smartphones and tablets will fuel an increase in the percentage of the workforce able to do jobs remotely. By 2016, 40% of the workforce will be mobile, and two-thirds of those employees will own smartphones, Gartner said.
“For most businesses, smartphones and tablets will not entirely replace PCs, but the ubiquity of smartphones and the increasing popularity of tablets are changing the way businesses look at their device strategies and the way consumers embrace devices,” said Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner research vice president, in a written statement.
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Source: Jeff Drew http://journalofaccountancy.com/
