Startup Talk: Smartphone growth to slow to single digits in 2016

Editor’s note: Each Thursday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Startup Talk,” a round-up of startup, technology and entrepreneurial news. –––––––––––––––

SMARTPHONE GROWTH TO SLOW TO SINGLE DIGITS IN 2016

According to a recent forecast update from the International Data Corporation (IDC), 2015 is likely to be the last year of double-digit smartphone growth. The 2015 calendar year finished with 1.44 billion smartphone shipments worldwide, which were up 10.4% over 2014. IDC’s most recent projections show 2016 shipments of 1.5 billion, or 5.7% growth over 2015. The trend of single-digit year-over-year growth is expected throughout the forecast with volumes growing to 1.92 billion in 2020. The market will continue to see volumes shifting to the low end with the aggregate market average selling price (ASP) dropping from $295 in 2015 to $237 in 2020.

LR TECH PARK’S FIRST PHASE ADVANCES, FORMER ACXIOM EXEC NAMED NEW CHAIR

The Little Rock Technology Park Authority on Wednesday moved into a new stage of development with the appointment of former Acxiom Corp. executive Kevin Zaffaroni as chairman, coupled with several actions taken by the seven-board board aimed at generating income and marketing the city’s first startup incubator and village. Read a full report at this link.

NASA ANNOUNCES WINNING CONCEPTS TO FURTHER ITS JOURNEY TO MARS

NASA has announced the winners of two challenges to create new concepts for construction and human habitation on future space exploration missions, including the agency’s journey to Mars. The Space Suit Textile Testing and In-Situ Materials Challenges yielded innovative concepts for spacesuit testing and in-situ building materials use for habitat construction. To see the list of winners, click here.

The Space Suit Textile Testing Challenge offered three prizes of $5,000 for winning ideas on how to test the outer protective layer of spacesuit material for performance in different kinds of planetary environments, such as like Mars or large asteroids. The In-Situ Challenge sought solutions using surface materials like regolith – crushed basalt rock – for Earth and space fabrication and construction applications and offered a first-place prize of $10,000 and two second-place prizes of $2,500 for top submissions.

NEBRASKA STUDENT WINS $20,000 IN WINDSTREAM’S STARTUP CHALLENGE

Carter Knopik from Southwest High School in Lincoln, Neb., and his start-up, “Thought Bubble,” have been named the winner of Windstream’s Smart Tomorrow Start-Up Challenge. Carter designed a platform that allows users to quickly brainstorm new ideas through cloud-based, real-time collaboration. The Nebraska high schooler will be awarded the $20,000 grand prize, and another $20,000 will be donated to an affiliated organization at his school.

Carter was one of three contest finalists asked to create a 2-3 minute video as if they were pitching their start-up to a group of investors. The winner was chosen based on an online vote hosted on Inc.com, a vote from venture capitalist Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, and a vote from Windstream. The two other finalist teams were from The Montessori High School of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. and the Hightower High School in the Sugar Land, Texas area. They will receive $5,000 each with an additional $5,000 to be donated to their schools’ affiliated organizations.