Mobile Devices Set Record

Worldwide shipments of mobile devices will see a compound annual growth rate of 54 percent in the next four years, and by 2011 there will be 82 million such devices in use, according to a report released by IDC.

These wireless devices include smart phones, PDAs and BlackBerry devices, which IDC calls Converged Mobile Devices (CMD). Today there are about 9.6 million CMDs in use around the world.

IDC says the U.S. market in 2006 comprised 42 percent of all enterprise CMD shipments worldwide, with about 4 million devices in use. The firm expects strong growth in the United States over the next five years as more businesses procure CMDs for employees. The consulting firm also points to Western Europe as the second-largest market for enterprise mobility.

Growth markets for corporate mobile devices and services also will include parts of the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Eastern Europe, IDC says. One exception is Japan, where the firm is expecting only "marginal enterprise adoption." The Japanese market "remains almost entirely consumer-centric," the firm says in a press release.

IDC says factors driving corporate adoption of these devices around the world include more flexible connectivity options and reduced telecommunications spending.

IDC released its "Worldwide Enterprise Converged Mobile Device Forecast and Analysis" report on Thursday.