Smartphone sales on the up
Despite the troubled economy, sales of smartphones rose 4 percent over the past year. Nokia retained its number one slot, but RIM was the biggest winner.
Figures from research firm IDC show that 43.3 million “converged mobile devices” were sold in worldwide between July and September, up from 41.1 million last year. That’s tremendous news for the industry, though it’s arguable that figures for the next two quarters (holiday sales, followed by purchases from people who got cash or vouchers for Christmas) may prove more important.
Nokia remains the market leader, selling 16.4 million handsets, double its nearest rival, Research in Motion. That’s largely due to international sales as the firm has struggled to compete in the United States. The rest of the top five was Apple (7.4 million), HTC (2.4 million) and Samsung (1.5 million).
That was a rise for every firm but Samsung, which matched its 2008 figure. However, while Nokia slightly increased its market share, the biggest growth by far came from RIM which increased sales by more than a third and — helped particularly by rapid growth overseas — overtook Apple’s numbers. While that’s a symbolic blow, Apple chiefs won’t be too upset as its sales for the quarter marked a new company record.
The most notable trend from the figures is that the market appears to be contracting more and more into being dominated by a few major players. The proportion of smartphones sold by manufacturers other than the top five slipped from 22.9 percent to 16.8 percent.
IDC predicts that smartphones will continue to outpace the entire cellphone market, largely because users will have ever-higher expectations about what a phone can do for them. It also believes the “buzz surrounding Android OS is reaching critical mass” and says the system is ready to mount a serious challenge.
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