GeneralIDC reports 87.2% year-over-year increase in smartphone shipments

IDC reports 87.2% year-over-year increase in smartphone shipments

IDC Smartphone Report

Smartphones have taken the markets by storm, with more and more people opting for them and thus ending 2010 on a cheerful note. IDC’s report dubbed Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker discloses that smartphone shipments have increased year-over-year by 87.2% worldwide. The study also asserts that smartphones based on the Android platform have recorded higher sales compared to other vendors. Overall, vendors shipped a total of 401.4 100.9 million smartphones in 4Q10, while these figures amounted to 53.9 million during 4Q09.

Last year, a record 302.6 million smartphones were sold world over as pitted against the 173.5 million smartphones shipped in 2009. According to the comprehensive research conducted by IDC, Android-powered smartphones are leading the race when it comes to competing with smartphones based on other platforms. Windows Phone 7 and Symbian^3 OS also gained momentum and showed good growth in the first quarter of their commercial availability. Nokia managed to sell five million Symbian^3 units and Windows Phone 7 sold over 1.5 million units.

“Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market,” shared Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. “It has become the cornerstone of multiple vendors’ smartphone strategies, and has quickly become a challenger to market leader Symbian. Although Symbian has the backing of market leader Nokia, Android has multiple vendors, including HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung and a growing list of companies deploying Android on their devices.”

In the battle of the smartphones, the top five vendors for 2010 were Nokia, Apple, RIM, Samsung and HTC. As stated previously, Nokia garnered positive response with its Symbian^3 smartphones. It sold 28.3 million units and posted a year-over-year growth of 36.1% during 4Q10. Apple iPhone’s popularity has escalated even more with it gaining a strong foothold in the Asia/Pacific and Japanese markets. This vendor has shipped 16.2 million units and acquired a year-over-year growth of 86.2% in 4Q10.

RIM continues to enjoy market leadership in North America, though it had to face some challenges from various competitors. In 4Q10, it managed to sell 14.6 million units with a year-over-year growth of 36.1%. Samsung’s Galaxy S series smartphones has bolstered its position with a market share of 9.6% and a whopping year-over-year growth of 438.9%. HTC has been credited with a market share of 8.5% and year-over-year growth of 258.3% in 4Q10.

In the near future, more mid-range and lower priced smartphones may be expected to continue driving huge business in the mobile markets world over.

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