Samsung Knocks Out Nokia At Last
Worldwide handset shipments grew a modest 3 percent annually to reach 368 million units in the first quarter of 2012 as compared to 19 percent growth in the year up to Q1 2011.
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, the best of the bunch during the quarter, was again Samsung, which captured a record 25 percent market share.
Now, for the first time, Samsung is the world's number one handset vendor having pipped Nokia at the post. Nokia's share slid from 30.4 percent in Q1 2011 to 22.5 percent in Q1 2012.
Apple was another winner, having gained almost twice as much market share as compared to the same quarter last year, with a 9.5 percent stake.
Alex Spektor, Associate Director at Strategy, Analytics, comments, "As volumes contracted in key developed markets like Western Europe and North America, global handset shipments grew just 3 percent annually to reach 368.0 million units in Q1 2012. Samsung was the star performer, shipping 93.5 million handsets worldwide and capturing a record 25 percent market share. Five years after it captured the number-two spot from Motorola, Samsung has finally become the world's largest handset vendor in volume terms."
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, adds, "Nokia's global handset shipments declined a huge 24 percent annually to 82.7 million units in Q1 2012. Volumes were squeezed at both ends, as low-end feature phone shipments in emerging markets stalled and high-end Microsoft Lumia smartphones were unable to offset the rapid decline of Nokia's legacy Symbian business. Nokia was the world's largest handset vendor between 1998 and 2011, for 14 years, before finally yielding top position to rival Samsung this quarter."
Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics, says, "Apple shipped a healthy 35.1 million handsets worldwide in Q1 2012, nearly doubling from 18.6 million units in Q1 2011. Apple achieved its highest ever market share in the overall handset category, capturing 10 percent of global shipments during the first quarter of 2012."
