GeneralIDC traces 17.9% growth in global mobile phone market for Q410

IDC traces 17.9% growth in global mobile phone market for Q410

IDC

There is no denying the fact that we’re witnessing a tremendous increase in the overall usage of mobile phones the world over. A recent study conducted by IDC entitled Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker reveals that the global mobile phone market grew 17.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Incidentally‚ the major factor is touted as higher sales of smartphones with users flocking towards markets for the same. According to the report‚ vendors shipped 401.4 million units in 4Q10 compared to 340.5 million units in 4Q09.

On a whole‚ vendors sold a staggering total of 1.39 billion units in 2010, which is 18.5% more when pitted against the 1.17 billion units shipped in 2009. After a weak start in 2009 which witnessed the market decline by 1.6%‚ there was a notable increase in the quarterly and annual market growth. A stable economy coupled with an influx of smart affordable mobile phones has enabled the market to reach its highest annual growth rate since 2006 when it grew by 22.6%. The report suggests that it’s not just smartphone vendors who are gaining huge profits due the mobile phone market growth. Vendors like ZTE‚ which mainly focuses on providing low-cost feature phones in rising markets‚ have gained definite momentum.

“The mobile phone market has the wind behind its sails,” quoted Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. “Mobile phone users are eager to swap out older devices for ones that handle data as well as voice, which is driving growth and replacement cycles.”

According to regional analysis‚ domestic brands like G-Five, Micromax, and Karbonn have been attaining a strong foothold in India. Vendors like ZTE and Huawei are trying to push sales of low-cost Android smartphones in China. In Western Europe‚ the iPhone 4, HTC Desire, Nokia N8, Samsung Galaxy S, and BlackBerry 8520 were the region’s top sellers. In the U.S., market leaders like RIM and Apple have maintained a healthy lead‚ while companies like Dell, Huawei, Kyocera, and Sanyo have released their first smartphones. As for Latin America, vendors like Nokia, RIM, and Samsung as well as Huawei have managed to sustain user interest quite successfully.

“Change-up among the number four and five vendors could be a regular occurrence this year,” added Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. “Motorola, Research In Motion, and Sony Ericsson, all vendors with a tight focus on the fast-growing smartphone market who had ranked among the top five worldwide vendors during 2010 are well within striking distance to move back into the top five list.”

The top five mobile phone vendors for the year 2010 were Nokia‚ Samsung‚ LG‚ ZTE and Apple. Nokia was credited with 123.7 million unit shipments in 4Q10. During the same period, Samsung sold 80.7 million units while LG managed to sell 30.6 million. For the year, 2010 Nokia’s unit shipments were calculated at 453 with a market share of 32.6%. Samsung’s sold 280.2 million shipments in the year 2010 with a market share of 20.2%. Lastly LG managed to vend over 116.7 unit through 2010.

The mobile phone markets worldwide will largely be driven by sales of smartphones in coming few years. Nonetheless, the performance of low-cost feature phones too will play an important part to determine the future mobile phone market trends.

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