Smart moves
Market researcher Gartner has reported a 27 percent year-in-year increase in global smartphone sales in the second quarter of the year. This contrasts with a six percent decline in overall handset sales.
The main reason for the general decline is continued de-stocking by the channel, which used up 13.9 million units of existing stock before ordering new products. Gartner expects restocking to commence in the second half of this year.
"Despite the challenging market, some devices sold well as consumers who would usually have purchased standard midrange devices either cut back to less expensive handsets or moved up the range to get more features for their money," said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner.
"Touchscreen and qwerty devices remained a major driver for replacement sales and benefited manufacturers with strong, touch-focused midtier devices."
Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sales to End Users in 2Q09 (Thousands of Units)
Company |
2Q09 Sales |
2Q09 Market Share (%) |
2Q08 Sales |
2Q08 Market Share (%) |
Nokia |
105,413.3 |
36.8 |
120,353.3 |
39.5 |
Samsung |
55,430.2 |
19.3 |
46,376.0 |
15.2 |
LG |
30,497.0 |
10.7 |
26,698.9 |
8.8 |
Motorola |
15,947.8 |
5.6 |
30,371.8 |
10.0 |
Sony Ericsson |
13,574.2 |
4.7 |
22,951.7 |
7.5 |
Others |
65,260.2 |
23.0 |
57,970.6 |
19.0 |
Total |
286,122.7 |
100 |
304,722.3 |
100 |
Note: This table includes iDEN shipments but excludes ODM-to-OEM shipments.
Source: Gartner (August 2009)