Il processo di convergenza digitale nel settore dei terminali di telefonia mobile e lo sviluppo del segmento degli smartphone,

Digital convergence in the mobile phone industry and the growth of smartphone industry. Over the last years, in the mobile phone industry digital convergence have enabled a growing integration of functions into formely separate products or services and the emergence of hybrid mobile devices, the smarphones. Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users totaled 968 million units in 2013, an increase of 42.3 percent from 2012. Sales of smartphones in 2013 exceeded annual sales of feature phones for the first time. This paper describes the consequences of digital convergence on the mobile phone industry. In particular, the paper examines the drivers who have contributed towards the different stages of digital convergence and the impact this process has had on the growth and competitive dynamics of the industry.