1.3 million iPhones in Australia by 2012

Some 1.3 million iPhones will be shipped to Australia over the next five years, as the appetite for converged devices continue to grow, according to a new report.

The study by analysts IDC determined that by 2012, converged devices will make up nearly 50 per cent of all mobiles shipped to Australia, with the iPhone expected to account for 7.38 per cent of the market by that time.

"The iPhone 3G will see strong initial demand," Mark Novosel, telecoms analyst at IDC, said in a statement. "It wouldn't be unusual to experience stock shortages in the initial months after the launch, and given that the HTC Diamond and BlackBerry Bold should be launching shortly after, frustrated consumers may quickly opt for other comparable devices."

Novosel added that these figures could be surpassed pending future iPhone developments over the five-year period, foreshadowing the possibility of any number of new models which may be introduced between now and then.

According to the research, a "rapid handset boom due to Telstra's Next G migration" led to a market jump in late 2007. While the figures for 2008's first quarter are not expected to pass those of 2007's final quarter, Novosel believes that full year 2008 shipments of mobile devices will exceed those of 2007 by 6.4 per cent, driven by "a flurry of advanced new devices in the second half of the year and the launch of Optus and Vodafone's national 3G networks."