Another Bubble About to Burst

If you’re like us then you have lived through many bubbles in the tech world. The latest bubble is clearly in the Smartphone world and that one may be about to burst, Here’s a report from Reuters:

Smartphone sales are still growing, and market tracker IDC predicts annual shipments will top 1.5 billion by 2017, up from 917 million this year - but the blistering growth of the past five years is slowing.

IDC sees sales increasing by around 15 percent this year in mature markets such as the United States, down from 20.6 percent last year, and this will slow further to just 4.6 percent by 2017. In emerging markets - China accounts for around a third of global demand - growth will slow to 12 percent this year from more than 35 percent.

Omoto reckons Panasonic could boost its share of the chip mounting market by wooing the many smaller Chinese mobile phone makers that are gaining ground on Apple. The U.S. firm's Greater China sales slumped 43 percent in April-June from the previous quarter. Beyond that, Omoto, whose operating margins have slipped to 8 percent from 10 percent, is looking to reduce his smartphone related business to a quarter from 30 percent by selling more of his robots to the automaking industry.