Smart phone sales surge
Research in Motion Ltd. , Apple Inc. and Nokia Corp. are all gaining market share as global smart phone sales surge to new heights. In a report this morning, Boston's Strategy Analytics said RIM's BlackBerry held a 20.2 per cent share of the market in the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 18.6 per cent a year earlier.
Apple's iPhone came on strong, boosting its market share to 16.4 per cent from 10.8 per cent. Nokia remained the leader at 39.2 per cent, the research company said in its fourth-quarter update. RIM, Strategy Analytics reported, shipped a record 10.7 million smart phones globally in the last quarter, remaining "comfortably" ahead of Apple's 8.7 million. "RIM continues to expand its international footprint beyond the core territory of North America deeper into Western Europe and parts of Asia," it said.
Global industry shipments hit a record 53 million in the quarter, a 30-per-cent surge from a year earlier, the company said, driven by stronger consumer demand and attractive new models. This will heat up this year. "The smart phone market will become ultra competitive in 2010," Strategy Analytics director Neil Mawston said in a statement. Samsung and LG have ambitious plans to grow volumes and expand their app stores, while emerging players like Dell and Huawei are strengthening their device portfolios and courting major operators. The smart phone wars will be good news for consumers, but the fierce competition will inevitably place downward pressure on vendors' pricing and margins."
-RTGAM; Feb. 01,2010