87 million 4G devices are expected to be sold in 2012, says ABI Research. With 294% year-on-year increase, 4G subscriptions are really going to take off in 2012. LTE will take major share of this market as WiMAX is running out of favor from vendors and operators.

In addition to 61 million 4G handsets being shipped in 2012, we estimate 26 million 4G non-handset products will be shipped, mentions Philip Solis, research director, mobile devices. In the short-term, most of that will reflect customers purchasing USB dongles for legacy laptops and notebooks, followed by customer premise equipment, or home modem, purchases.

Although customers do recognize 4G offers higher speeds but they are not necessarily signing up in droves, as many of them are not prepared to pay the premium for 4G handsets and 4G tariffs. ABI Research expects that High definition video streaming, more interactive/immersive social networking and gaming experiences, should coax 3G customers to migrate to 4G. Furthermore, mobile device vendors are experiencing intense competitive pressure, which is expected to bring down LTE handset prices, estimated at 10 to 20 percent over the next two years.