LED handset flash revenue to near triple by 2011
Market analyst Strategy Analytics (SA) predicts that the revenue from LEDs used in the camera flash in cellular handsets will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 23% between 2006 and 2011.
However, overall LED sales to the cellphone market will decline over this period, due to a fall in LED backlight revenue from $1.30 billion to $984 million. By 2011, the backlighting application will be worth only 63% of LED sales for handsets.
"By 2011, 82 percent of all handsets shipped will include a camera," explained Asif Anwar, Director of the SA GaAs service.
There will also be a move towards handset cameras featuring 2 mega pixels or more, which will help to drive LED flash demand, according to Stuart Robinson, Director of SA handset component technologies.
• SA's predictions for a general fall in LED sales into the handset market, but an increase in revenue for LEDs for cell phone flash, are in general agreement with those made by Strategies Unlimited's Bob Steele at this year s Strategies in Light conference.
Steele believes that LED revenue from the mobile phones sector peaked in 2004 at just over $2 billion, and was worth $1.8 billion last year.
According to him, the LED market for camera flash has tripled over that period and is now worth $0.3 billion.
• Strategy Analytics 5-year outlook is available now "“ for details visit the company's web site.
