Alexandra Burlacu email: a.burlacu@mobilenapps.com
China's Huawei continues to soar and push into new markets, and the Shenzhen-based company has now climbed in global smartphone vendor rankings.
Huawei has surpassed rivals such as ZTE, Sony, Nokia, LG and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) in the global smartphone race, and now sits pretty in the third spot, right behind Samsung and Apple.
According to market research firm IDC, Huawei saw an 89.9 percent growth year-over-year, shipping 10.8 million smartphones during the fourth quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, Samsung kept the top spot with 63.7 million units shipped, and Apple ranked second with 47.8 million units shipped.
Sony and ZTE round up the top five worldwide smartphone vendors, with shipments of 9.8 million units and 9.5 million units, respectively. Both companies saw strong growth, climbing by 55.6 percent and 48.4 percent, respectively, year-over-year.
In terms of absolute smartphone market share, Samsung leads the way with 29 percent, followed by Apple with 21.8 percent. Huawei follows with 4.9 percent, Sony with 4.5 percent, and ZTE with 4.3 percent.
"The fact that Huawei and ZTE now find themselves among the top five smartphone vendors marks a significant shift for the global market," noted Ramon Llamas, an IDC mobile team research manager. "Both companies have grown volumes by focusing on the mass market, but in recent quarters they have turned their attention toward higher-end devices. In addition, both companies have pushed the envelope in terms of industrial design with larger displays and smaller form factors, as well as innovative applications and experiences."
These rankings, however, refer to smartphones. The phone industry on the whole paints a different picture. According to IDC's estimates, Samsung shipped about 111.2 million devices globally during the fourth quarter, seizing 23 percent of the overall phone market. This means the company saw a 12.1 percent growth year-over-year. Nokia, meanwhile, saw a 23.9 percent decline in shipments compared to the same quarter a year ago. The Finnish company shipped 86.3 million devices, grabbing 17.9 percent of the market.
Apple comes in third in global mobile phone shipments, with 47.8 million iPhones shipped and grabbing 9.9 percent of the market during the fourth quarter. ZTE ranks fourth with 17.6 million, i.e. 3.6 percent of the market, while Huawei rounds up the top five in global mobile phone shipments with 15.89 million, meaning 3.3 percent of the market during the fourth quarter. Motorola, RIM, HTC, and LG did not make the top five during the fourth quarter.
© Copyright 2020 Mobile & Apps, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.most read
more stories from What's Hot
Rockstar Games has acknowledged the most common GTA Online launch issues and detailed the bug fix status for each problem it's currently working on.
ernest hamiltonTarget has announced its new prepaid mobile service, Brightspot, which will debut on Sunday, Oct. 6.
ernest hamiltonHulu has added support for Google's Chromecast streaming dongle, allowing Hulu Plus users to 'cast' video directly to Chromecast.
ernest hamiltonThe much-awaited Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online mode has finally gone live, unfolding a whole interconnected universe.
ernest hamiltonBlackBerry has posted its Q2 fiscal results and blames a $935 million hit on 'Z10 Inventory Charge'
ernest hamiltonThe KitKat contest has now reached India, bringing promotional packages with the chance to win a new Nexus 7 (2013).
ernest hamiltonGoogle Talk has been sending messages to the wrong recipients, raising some serious privacy concerns.
ernest hamiltonGrand Theft Auto V publisher Take-Two has announced that the new GTA 5 made a whopping $800 million on launch day, breaking the record previously set by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
ernest hamilton