SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) - It is expected that the value of global smartphone shipments this year will exceed the personal computers for the first time ever, amid growing demand for mobile devices.
It is expected that the value of global smartphone shipments will reach 239.6 billion U.S. dollars this year, exceeding the value of PC shipments estimated at 218.6 billion dollars, according to data from market researcher Gartner Inc. and financial industry sources.
If the estimations are on the right track, it will be the first time that smartphones exports exceed those of PCs in terms of value. The smartphone shipments were outperformed by the computers in terms of quantity in 2011.
The outcome is a result of continued demand for smartphones face lower demand for computers.
It is expected that the number of smartphone shipments increased by 17.2 percent year on year, while it is expected that the number of computers to contract by 3.9 percent.
Meanwhile, analysts said that Samsung Electronics Co. may see that this year its annual revenues exceed those of rival Apple Inc., thanks to sales of smartphones.
"Revenues Samsung smartphone can reach 98,000 million dollars, surpassing the 92,000 million dollars of Apple´s. Nevertheless, the company reduce its operating profit gap with Apple, with a gain of 25,000 million, compared to the 27,000 million from Apple, "said Roh Geun-chang, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities Co.
In 2012, revenues from Samsung smartphones reached 66,000 million dollars, leaving behind 86,000 million in Apple. The operating profit of the South Korean company was 16.8 billion dollars, about half of the 29.8 billion dollars of Apple.
