Orange's marketing manager: Smartphone sales could double this year, as well

The telecom market will remain difficult in 2011 as well, with clients continuing to ration their spending, and tight competition among operators. However, interest for PC tablets is high, as that for smartphones.
Orange, no. 1 on the Romanian communications market, with around one billion euros in turnover in 2010, is expecting this year to be difficult, with competition putting pressure on tariffs, but also a year with growth opportunities thanks to sales of PC tablets, smartphones, and mobile Internet services, amid increasing interest from clients. "In 2010, the rise of smartphone sales exceeded that of traditional phones and services sales by far, so the increase was significant, despite the negative context," Dorin Odiaţiu, 43, marketing manager of Orange, told ZF in an interview. "In 2010 we sold more than double as many smartphones as in 2009. We expect this demand will grow and increasingly more people will want to have a smartphone. Sales could double this year, as well."
The significant growth rates are explained by the fact that the smartphone market is in its early stages of development.