Telecom Lead India: Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Research In
Motion and LG are the top 5 smartphone vendors in the world in Q1 2012.
Though Samsung in the first quarter overtook Nokia to become
the world’s largest cellphone brand for the first time, Samsung remained in
second place in the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, behind Apple.
In the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, Apple
shipped 35 million units in the first quarter. Samsung shipped 32 million
smartphones.
Apple’s smartphone shipments declined 5 percent, compared to
11 percent for Samsung. Sequential declines in the shipments of smartphones as
well as cellphones reflect normal seasonal patterns in which sales decrease
following the peak holiday period in the fourth quarter.
| Global Smartphone Suppliers That Have Reported Results to Date for Q1 2012 (Shipments in Millions of Units)* |
|||
| Company | Q4 ’11 Shipments (Millions) |
Q1 ’12 Shipments (Millions) |
Q4 ’11/Q1 ’12 Quarterly Growth |
| Apple | 37 | 35 | -5% |
| Samsung | 36 | 32 | -11% |
| Nokia | 20 | 12 | -39% |
| RIM | 14 | 11 | -21% |
| LG | 5 | 4 | -19% |
| *Excludes results from companies that haven’t reported results yet |
|||
| Source: IHS iSuppli April 2012 |
|||
With cellphones now accounting for more than 40 percent of
Samsung’s overall revenue, it’s clear that the company’s continued investments
in smartphone hardware and software R&D are paying off,” said Wayne Lam,
senior analyst, wireless communications at IHS.
Samsung’s latest Galaxy S III handset shipments will start
in May. This indicates Samsung is likely to make further progress in market share
in 2012.
Global smartphone shipments are set to rise by 35 percent
this year, while those for feature phones, entry-level phones and ULCHs will
all decline.
The smartphone segment will be single-handedly responsible
for the overall cellphone business expansion of 7.4 percent in 2012. Next year,
smartphone shipments will rise to account for more than half of all cellphones
for the first time, at 52 percent, up from 43.5 percent in 2012.
Smartphones represented 34 percent of Samsung’s handset
shipments in the first quarter. In contrast, smartphones accounted for just 14
percent of Nokia’s shipments.
Samsung has offered handsets on multiple smartphone
operating system platforms, including Google’s Android, Microsoft’s Windows
Phone and Samsung’s own bada. By betting on all horses, Samsung is ensuring
that it is backing a winner.
To make Nokia’s Windows phone strategy pay off, Nokia must
convince the leading carriers to visibly back Windows Phone as well as convince
consumers of a valuable and differentiated experience.
Android original equipment manufacturers (OEM) like HTC, LG
Electronics, Sony and Motorola Mobility struggled in the fiercely competitive
smartphone market.
| Global Cellphone Suppliers That Have Reported Results to Date for Q1 2012 (Shipments in Millions of Units)* |
|||
| Company | Q4 ’11 Shipments (Millions) |
Q1 ’12 Shipments (Millions) |
Q4 ’11/Q1 ’12 Quarterly Growth |
| Samsung | 106 | 92 | -13% |
| Nokia | 114 | 83 | -27% |
| Apple | 37 | 35 | -5% |
| LG | 18 | 14 | -23% |
| RIM | 14 | 11 | -21% |
| *Excludes results from companies that haven’t reported results yet |
|||
| Source: IHS iSuppli April 2012 |
|||
Another smartphone player, Research in Motion Ltd., is
staking its future performance on the new-generation BlackBerry 10 operating
system, due to be shown at BlackBerry World next week, and set to launch later
in 2012. RIM’s smartphone shipments declined to 11 million in the first
quarter, down 21 percent from 14 million in the fourth quarter.
