Mobile phones are flying off the shelves before Christmas and sales are heading for record highs this year as the global economy recovers and low-priced models go on the market.
The bad news? Handset makers cannot keep up with demand.
In their efforts to avoid the dreaded mistake of 2001, when they miscalculated demand to the tune of 100 million units, phone producers are cautious and have run short of components.
The result is that demand is outstripping supply in most regions of the world, from emerging markets in Russia and India to saturated markets of the United States, Europe and Japan where consumers are swapping old models for fancy new ones.
The fact that supply is tight means old inventories can at last be sold off. One source said that one quarter of a million old-style handsets with monochrome displays that were sitting in a warehouse were recently shipped to distributors.
Anything to fill the shops.
News source: CNN Tech
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