“The global handset market should return to growth in the fourth quarter after several quarters of declining shipments, research firm Strategy Analytics said Friday,” Gustav Sandstrom reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“In its latest report on the handset market, Strategy Analytics forecast that global shipments in the final quarter of 2009 will rise 3% from a year earlier to reach 300 million units,” Sandstrom reports.
“In the third quarter, Nokia maintained its market-leading position even as its market share fell to 37%, its lowest level since the first quarter 2007, Strategy Analytics said. The company’s smartphone shipments stagnated in the quarter, with the U.S. remaining a particular weak spot for the Finnish company,” Sandstrom reports. “Samsung’s market share, meanwhile, increased to an all-time high of 21%, helped by the company’s attractive portfolio of touch-screen phones and expanding regional retail presence.”
“Samsung’s Korean rival LG Electronics Inc.’s market share was flat compared with the previous quarter, at 11%,” Sandstrom reports. “Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Sweden’s Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Japan’s Sony Corp., was also unchanged with 5% of the market. U.S-based Motorola Inc.’s market share remained around 5%, slightly below Sony Ericsson’s… Apple Inc., meanwhile, reached a record 2.5% market share helped by strong shipments of its iPhone.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: These market share figures are for all handsets, not just smartphones (of which, Apple currently sells two models: iPhone 3G and 3GS).
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