Headset for sound talk

By the end of 2007, the global market for mobile phone accessories (like headsets, memory cards and speakers) is expected to reach $32 billion, and may touch $80 billion by 2012, according to ABI Research.

Headsets The worldwide sales of Bluetooth headsets, for instance, are predicted to touch 68.4 million units in 2007, according to IMS Research, and could top the 199 million mark by 2011.

In India, the number is fast moving towards the one million mark this financial year. Bluetooth is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks.

It allows mobile phones, laptops, PCs, digital cameras, consoles to connect and exchange information over a secure, short-range radio frequency. The range of bluetooth devices extend up to 30 feet.

For headset players like Jabra, these are exciting times. "Legislation in 37 countries bans people from using a handheld while driving. This has helped in furthering use of hands-free or Bluetooth solutions," says Christian-Tang Jespersen, senior vice president APAC, Jabra, adding: "At the same time, the hands-free lifestyle is spreading to more and more groups of people who also use PCs, MP3 players and other multimedia devices. These trends help to promote change and push the conventional market for hands-free Bluetooth solutions to new heights."

Jabra claims to have manufactured 27 million headsets in 2006, and "with the Indian Bluetooth headset market growing at CAGR of 71 per cent "" and all set to surpass the combined market size of the Australian continent in 3 years time "" Jabra is here to stay," asserts Vincent Pena, regional managing director, (Middle East, India & Africa), Jabra.

Memory cards While mobile phones can claim for roughly 40-45 per cent of the 400 million memory cards sold today, it is believed this percentage will climb to 64 per cent by 2010.

To accommodate this growth in mobile phone applications, players like Samsung, Panasonic, Sandisk, Toshiba have designed their roadmaps that includes smaller-than-mini micro secure digital (SD) cards, multimedia card, memory stick duo, Wi-Fi cards and smartSD cards with integrated security and digital rights management (DRM) features.

Market research firm Dataquest predicts: "The memory card market as a whole will average 10 per cent annual growth between 2006 and 2010, while demand for high density 8GB cards should grow an average of 2.6 times per year over the same period."

This means, by 2010 the 8GB memory card will be the market mainstream in terms of units sold. In anticipation, Samsung Electronics has developed an 8 GB microSD memory card, capable of storing nearly 2000 music files, 4,000 digital photos or approximately five DVD-quality movies.

Speakers The new generation of multimedia owners, also called "the MP3 generation", want more than that. They are serious users of communications and media devices. Bluetooth speakers that can stream music wirelessly from mobile phones have become a fashion statement for the young and hip.

"Bluetooth in stereo is huge," says Kishen Singh, a mobile store retailer in East Delhi. He claims to have sold hundreds of Bluetooth speakers to mobile music lovers in Delhi.

"One of the more popular ones are the Nokia portable speakers with Bluetooth wireless technology. It one to listen to the digital music stored on compatible mobile devices in high-quality, stereo sound."

And there's no need to worry about missing calls when the music's playing "" the speakers act as a hands-free speakerphone and can be used to manage your calls. While prices can be steep at around Rs 5,000 and even touch Rs 8,000 (for other brands), Singh is hopeful of "Chinese manufacturers breaking the price mould."

Mobile printers are also waiting to happen in India. The NPD Group research firm says 69 per cent of mobile phones sold last year had an in-built camera "" up from 51 per cent at the start of 2006.

The research adds, that about 80 per cent of the pictures taken with phones just sit there "" neither sent to anyone else nor printed. The potential of mobile printers that would allow quick wireless printing is a $20-30 million market.

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IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Headsets

Jabra "" Rs 1,800-2,500

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola "" Rs 1,500-3,000

Plantronics "" Rs 1,300-3,500

Memory cards

Sandisk, Toshiba, Sony (1 GB - 2GB) "" Rs 400-850

Bluetooth Speakers

Nokia, Motorola "" Rs 5,000-8,000