U.S. Quick Messaging Device 2009 Vendor Analysis

This IDC study examines the emergence of the quick messaging device in the U.S. mobile phone market. Although the traditional mobile phone market (those devices lacking a high-level operating system) posted yet another down year in the U.S. mobile phone market, one segment took a significant step forward: the quick messaging device (QMD). QMDs feature a QWERTY or compressed QWERTY keyboard that enable fast typing of messages but also open the door for greater data usage on devices. By the end of 2009, vendors had shipped a total of 38.2 million QMDs into the United States, up a staggering 198.4% from the 12.8 million units in 2008.

"Growth in the QMD category demonstrates the desire among consumers to do more than make telephone calls on their mobile phones," says Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "Peer-to-peer messaging has been the immediate usage case, but the addition of social networking applications and the mobile Internet has also pushed the QMD further into the spotlight. At the same time, the QMD continues to mimic many of the features and functionalities found on converged mobile devices (commonly referred to as 'smartphones'), blurring the line between the two categories. We expect to see continued growth in the QMD market segment as users seek out more robust user inputs beyond alphanumeric keyboards and carriers meet user demand."