Apple has become the top mobile device vendor in Australia for the first time, with nearly one third market share, IDC’s Q1 2011 Mobile Device Tracker revealed.
“Nokia suffered a double whammy, the feature phone market collapsed, with 79% of new mobiles shipped now being smartphones. Meanwhile, Symbian took a huge tumble, as consumers shy away from the platform ahead of Nokia’s transition to Windows Phone,” said Mark Novosel, Telecommunications Analyst, at IDC, in the press release.c”Symbian lost 9.5% market share Q/Q, more than double IDC’s forecast decline. We expected Symbian to decline steadily throughout 2011, however the pace of decline has exceeded all expectations, with the majority of would-be Symbian buyers heading to Apple,” added Novosel.
In the smartphone market, Apple now holds close to 40% market share, up almost 10% Q/Q. Android, in second place, holds nearly 30% of the market, and Symbian has plunged to third with 22% of the smartphone market.
“The weakness in Symbian and slow initial growth of Windows Phone are providing a stimulus for iOS and Android, which will battle head to head for the top spot in 2011,” said Novosel.
“2011 will be an increasingly difficult year for Nokia, as consumers side-step Symbian smartphones and feature phone popularity continues to dwindle. Microsoft will also face a tough year with slow Windows Phone 7 growth expected, as the iOS and Android tussle intensifies. As Nokia launches its first Windows Phone models in early 2012, and Symbian shipments eventually stop, Microsoft should start to see an uplift,” concluded Novosel.
Source: IDC