Smartphone shipments keep climbing — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Nokia, RIM, Apple HTC have 80% of the smartphone market} Smartphone shipments keep climbing

Chinese market is expected to boost iPhone shipment volumes.

7 Nov 2009 at 00:13 GMT Timo Poropudas

Smartphones reached a record number of shipments for a single quarter, reports IDC. The shipments were up 4.2 percent.

During the last reporting period, 43.3 million smartphones shipped worldwide, up 4.2 percent from 41.5 million in the same period a year ago, and up 3.2 percent from shipments of 41.9 million in the second quarter of this year, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report.

Though the relative ranking of the top players in the space remains the same, analysts predict that the new Android-powered handsets will soon have a significant impact.

Infonetic also bullish on smartphone

"Smartphones are on track to post a 14.5 percent increase in the number of units sold worldwide in 2009, and a 21 percent compound annual growth rate from 2008 to 2013, significantly better than other mobile phone segments," Richard Webb, mobile analyst director at Infonetics, said in a statement.

Webb sees a dip in smartphone fortunes this year, but the future is bright: "While smartphone revenue is expected to dip in 2009 mainly due to price erosion and lower-ARPU units coming to market, we expect it to pick up in 2010 and continue growing, easily outstripping the combined revenue of standard mobile phones by 2012.

Canalys counts 41,4 million devices

Global smart phone shipments in Q3 2009 rose 4% year on year, slower than the 13% annual growth seen last quarter, and held back primarily by a 6% fall in EMEA. Shipments in North America were up 5%, but the APAC region saw a remarkable 26% rise after several flat quarters.

Nokia, RIM, Apple and HTC command over 80% of the market between them, says Canalys report that breaks up the data by manufacturer, operating system and geographic region.

Market shares according to Canalys: Nokia retained its worldwide smart phone lead, with a share of 40% – slightly up on its year-ago position, but down almost 5% sequentially. RIM held onto second place with a largely unchanged (compared to Q2) share of 21%, while Apple reached a new high of 18% share in third, significantly up from the 14% it held in Q2 as supply of the iPhone 3GS improved in many countries. HTC retained its fourth-place position with 5% share.

Looking at the market by operating system, Symbian’s overall lead shrank as its share fell to 46%, ahead of RIM and Apple. Microsoft remained in fourth with its share dipping slightly below last quarter’s previous low point of 9%. The proportion of smart phones running Google’s Android OS climbed to almost 4%, from just under 3% in Q2.

Market shares according to Canalys: Nokia maintained its position as the overall leader in the converged mobile device market. Driving shipments forward were its popular flagship device, the N97, and an improving enterprise-focused portfolio led by the E71. Nokia also announced its first Maemo-powered device, the N900, targeting high-end users. While its worldwide leadership position is clear, Nokia still struggles in North America.

Research In Motion continued on its upward path with BlackBerry devices available for first-time users and returning users alike. Although most of its volumes remained within its home region of North America, the company also posted significant improvement internationally, with some regions recording triple digit growth year over year. Research In Motion launched two new devices during the quarter; the BlackBerry Tour for CDMA networks and the BlackBerry Curve 8520 for GSM networks.

Apple reached its highest volume yet in a single quarter. The nearly global availability of the iPhone 3G S sparked another round of annual replacements for Apple loyalists, while the lower price on the iPhone 3G put the device well within reach of customers wary of the price. Although the iPhone has struggled within emerging markets, its arrival at China Unicom this year could foreshadow greater shipment volumes.

HTC finished the quarter in fourth place (with HTC shipment data excluding phones sold under another company's brand). HTC remains the largest provider of Windows Mobile-powered devices, with several new devices shipping the new Windows 6.5 operating system. These include the HD2, Imagio, Tilt2, Pure, and Touch2. Not to be overlooked is its quickly growing Android-powered volumes with the Dream, Hero, and Magic.

Samsung returned to the top five vendors during 3Q09. Although volumes were flat from a year ago, the company saw marked improvement in Asia/Pacific, Latin America, and EMEA. The company has been a big supporter of Windows Mobile on its devices, and features Windows 6.5 on its Intrepid device. Samsung also plans to launch its Android-powered offering with the Moment and Behold II.