Hasta La Gadget!

The Chinese smartphone market is a tough nut to crack given its sensitivity to prices and a slew of strong domestic brands. IDC estimates suggest Apple may have learned this the hard way during the third quarter of this year: it slipped from fourth place in local market share during the second quarter to sixth. Samsung kept out in front, but everyone else who knocked Apple down a couple of pegs was from the neighborhood, starting with second-place Lenovo followed by Coolpad, ZTE and Huawei. Price and wider availability no doubt played a part in shifting further towards a (mostly) Android-based field, although the period may have also exacerbated the pre-update lull in sales that Apple often faces — while those in some countries were picking up an iPhone 5 in September, China won’t have its turn until December 14th. Fourth quarter results won’t completely reverse the state of affairs, but they could easily be worth watching.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Lenovo

Comments

Source: Reuters

Android devices already counted for a lion’s share of phones shipped during Q2, and now fresh IDC figures show Google’s OS claiming the top spot with a hefty 75 percent marketshare in the third quarter. In total, 136 million Android handsets were shipped during the time frame, a new record in a single quarter. Even with the help of new hardware, iOS lagged behind in second place with a 14.9 percent stake of handsets. Both Blackberry and Symbian clung to their respective 3rd and 4th place spots, making up 6.6 percent of total shipments. Windows-based phones (both WP7 and Windows Mobile) fell to 2 percent, keeping Microsoft in fifth place just above smartphones running Linux. However, with Windows Phone 8 devices making their debut, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Redmond’s numbers get a boost when IDC’s next report rolls around.

Continue reading IDC: Android claims 75 percent of smartphone shipments in Q3, 136 million handsets sold

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

IDC: Android claims 75 percent of smartphone shipments in Q3, 136 million handsets sold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TheNextWeb  |  IDC  | Email this | Comments

According to a study released today by the research firm Gartner, Lenovo has overtaken HP (Hewlett-Packard) as the number one seller of PCs worldwide. This move comes at a time when overall PC sales have faltered due to the economy and competition from mobile gadgets. Still, Lenovo managed to grow during this downturn, increasing its sales by nearly 10%.

Lenovo’s sales increased to 13.77 million, a jump of almost 10%. Of the four top PC vendors, Lenovo was the only one to experience an increase in sales; Asus was the only other vendor to experience growth. HP, who previously held the record, experienced a sales loss of 16.4%, re-positioning it with 15.5% of the market, while Lenovo now boasts 15.7%.

Of course, this isn’t without its controversy. IDC, another research firm, recently published its own study, which showed HP as just barely holding its top title with sales of 13.95 million versus 13.82 million for Lenovo. Not surprisingly, HP then responded with a statement that IDC’s study better encompasses the totality of the market, and should be accepted over the Gartner study.

Regardless of which is correct, a few facts are apparent. Total PC sales came in at 87.5 million units, which is a drop of 8.3%. While Lenovo did experience an increase in sales, HP and Dell both experienced significant drops. These decreases in sales, both at the vendor and the market level, make one thing apparent: the PC market is not in stellar condition, and as mobile devices continue to evolve while the economy flounders, vendors may not see an upturn in sales any time soon.

[via Gartner]

Lenovo trumps HP to take top slot in the PC market is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The latest figures out from IDC confirm that this is the year that China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest smartphone market, with its 25.5% share a significant lead over the U.S.’s 17.8%. The tipping point has been a long time coming: China is the world’s most-populated country, so it was only a matter of time before it would overtake the U.S. But the trend has been accelerated in the last couple of years with the rise of cheap sub-$200 devices built on Android.

But when it comes to growth, it’s another booming Eastern economy that is leading the pack: India, which this year will only account for 2.5% of all smartphones shipped and sold, is growing at a rate of over 57% in the next several years: but that still will only give it an 8.5% share by 2016. IDC notes that India has one of the lowest smartphone penetration rates in the region.

The trend for cheap, Android-based devices will continue to drive growth at China, too, which will see its share expand at a rate of 26.2%.

If anything the price is going to come down ever more: “Near-term prices in the low-end segment will come down to US$100 and below as competition for market share intensifies among smartphone vendors,” writes Wong Teck-Zhung, senior market analyst, Client Devices, IDC Asia/Pacific.

He believes that carrier subsidies and strong domestic vendors will continue to persist as trends in the market, too, and he believes 4G will be “another growth catalyst.”

Those cheap Chinese handsets are not just for Chinese, though. They are also making their way to other emerging markets like Brazil, which will see a much higher rate of growth than China, at 44% — although like India its share is just above 2% of all shipments at the moment.

In contrast, developed markets like the U.S. and UK will see growth at under 12%. In countries like these, the main trend will continue to be current feature phone handset owners upgrading to smartphones, but these countries are also much closer to smartphone saturation — with smartphones already in many cases outnumbering feature devices in current sales. Many analysts already note that the U.S. and UK are tipping into a smartphone majority. In the UK, the eventual launch of LTE will also be a driving force for sales. The first LTE services could launch as early as this year.

Another market that gets a mention by IDC, but which still doesn’t make it beyond the “rest of the world” category, is Mother Russia. IDC, in fact, believes it might be, along with Brazil, among the most hotly contested markets of all in the next five years.

Top Five Smartphone Markets and Market Share for 2011, 2012, and 2016 (based on shipments)

Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, 2012 Q2 Forecast Release, August 30 2012

It shouldn’t come as any surprise to see iOS and Android dominating the mobile landscape, but new information from IDC confirms that to be the case. Both iOS and Android now account for 85% of smartphones shipped during the second quarter of 2012. Android is said to have around 68.1% market share, up from 46.9% in 2011, while iOS sits at 16.9%. All in all, around 154 million smartphones were shipped during the quarter.

RIM and Nokia both suffered huge slides in the wake of iOS and Android. BlackBerry OS now holds 4.8% of the market, down from 11.5% last year, with RIM shipping only 7.4 million handsets during Q2. Symbian has also taken a massive beating, falling to 4.4% from 16.9%. Windows Phone has gained some market share, but it’s a small victory.

Last year Microsoft sat at around 2.3% and has managed to climb to 3.5%, no doubt with the help of Nokia. Around 5.4 million Windows Phones were shipped in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Linux and “other” devices bring up the rear with 2.3% and 0.1% of the market respectively.

The large Android share is largely attributed to Samsung, with the company accounting for 44% of all Android smartphones shipped in the second quarter. More surprisingly, Samsung’s shipments were more than seven other Android vendors’ volumes combined. The iPhone continued to see strong shipments, but growth has stalled thanks to the rumors of the next model being announced shortly. Meanwhile, Symbian saw a massive decline thanks to Nokia’s switch to Windows Phone, with BlackBerry tumbling because, well, it’s BlackBerry.

[via The Next Web]

IDC: iOS and Android on 85% of shipped smartphones is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.