July 9, 2009: Spurred by the two hottest devices — Apple’s iPhone and the Palm Pre — accelerometers will be shipped in one out of every three phones in 2010, up from out of five phones this year and just one out of 10 phones in 2008, according to a new analysis from iSuppli Corp.
The devices are gaining popularity and fame mainly because of user interface and interaction — e.g. tipping the screen to the side alters the view from portrait to landscape, and in gaming applications where shaking the screen simulates rolling the dice. “With their capability to detect and measure motion, accelerometers are the critical enablers of these features, which are an essential element of what makes these smart phones so popular. These capabilities now are spreading beyond smart phones to other types of handsets,” notes Jérémie Bouchaud, iSuppli’s director and principal analyst for MEMS, in a statement. But 3-axis MEMS accelerometer motion sensors in phones also take on power management and shake modes for controlling music phone tracks, context awareness, and pedometers.
iSuppli’s recent teardown of the iPhone 3G noted a 3-axis accelerometer from STMicroelectronics, which also works with the device’s digital compass to orient maps to the direction a user is facing. And a teardown of the Palm Pre revealed a Kionix MEMS accelerometer and inclinometer.
Figure 1. Global penetration of accelerometers in all types of mobile phones (% of total mobile phone shipments). Source: iSuppli
Beyond these two electronics devices, accelerometers are seeing broad adoption by other handset makers. Eighteen percent of new phones introduced since January (iSuppli tracks >1000 phones from 32 manufacturers, 99% of total shipments) integrated an accelerometer, and this should increase in 2H09, the firm notes. Eighteen of Sony Ericsson’s 19 new phone models introduced this year have accelerometers; Nokia has integrated motion-sensing accelerometers in 38% of its new handset platforms since January. Samsung and LG also are offering new phones with these components.
iSuppli forecasts the broader market for MEMS in mobile phones will more than triple between 2008 and 2013, rising to $1.6B in sales. Other MEMS devices already being incorporated into phones include microphones, BAW duplexers and filters, MEMS autofocus actuators, pressure sensors, and pico-projectors; gyroscopes are expected to be added to the mix in early 2010.
Figure 2. Worldwide sales of MEMS for use in mobile phones, in US $M. Source: iSuppli