Worldwide sales of mobile devices to end users totalled 428.7 million units in the second quarter of this year, a 16.5 percent increase from the second quarter of 2010, according to a study by Gartner. The channel built up stock at the end of the first quarter in preparation of possible component shortages following the Japanese earthquake.
As a result, sell-in demand slowed in the second quarter of 2011 to 421.1 million units, a 4.4 percent decrease from the previous quarter.
Sales of smartphones were up 74 percent and accounted for 25 percent of overall sales, up from 17 percent in the second quarter of 2010. This is supported by operator promotions on low and mid-range smartphones, which consumers are choosing over feature phones, Gartner said. However, replacement sales in Western Europe showed signs of fatigue as smartphone sales declined quarter-on-quarter.
Gartner expects manufacturers and distributors to remain cautious about raising their stock levels in the second half of 2011, following the recent uncertainty on world financial markets. The market researcher expects sales of mobile devices to grow around 12 percent in the full year 2011.
In smartphones, Nokia’s sales into the channel in the second quarter of 2011 were low. This was partly due to a very competitive market that deflated demand for Symbian, but also to inventory management issues in Europe and China in particular. Samsung achieved strong growth in sales of mobile devices. The Galaxy S II sold well, and this model went on to chalk up 5 million in sales by the end of July. A strong performance in the smartphone market helped Samsung increase its market share to become the third-largest smartphone vendor. However, its overall share dropped year-on-year, and grew only marginally quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to Samsung’s weaker presence in more price-sensitive market segments.
Apple continued to exceed expectations, even though the iPhone 4 will soon be replaced by a new model. Part of its growth came from the 42 new carriers and fifteen new countries that brought its total coverage to 100 countries. In mainland China, Apple is the seventh-largest mobile phone vendor and the third-largest smartphone vendor.
RIM’s share of the smartphone market declined to 12 percent, from 19 percent a year ago. Also, the company lost its number five position in the worldwide ranking of mobile device vendors to ZTE. Demand for RIM’s devices in the second quarter was impaired by an ageing portfolio and delays in shipping products.
Google and Apple are the obvious winners in the smartphone ecosystem. The combined share of iOS and Android in the smartphone OS market doubled to nearly 62 percent in the second quarter, up from over 31 percent in the corresponding period of 2010.
Original Article from Telecompaper
0 comments:
Post a Comment