A recent report by Strategy Analytics shows that nearly 42 million handsets have been shipped in the US in the second quarter of 2008. In spite of growing concerns, the mobile phone shipments defied the economic gloom and bloomed by 5 % annually.
Bonny Joy, Analyst at Strategy Analytics, remarked, “Despite economic fears and a tightening on consumer-spend, mobile phone shipments in the United States reached 41.9 million units during Q2 2008, up 5.3 percent from 39.8 million in Q2 2007. Attractive bundling schemes from operators and a number of new handset launches from vendors kept replacement rates at a healthy level.”
Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics further commented, “Motorola had a good quarter and retained its number one position in the USA, with a 25.8 percent market share. Motorola’s strong distribution network and deep carrier-relationships proved crucial in maintaining share in both GSM and CDMA markets. Motorola is not yet out of the woods, but these are encouraging, early signs of stabilization.”
The report suggests that Motorola had a strong quarter and consistently maintained its number one position in the region. About 10.8 million phones of the company were shipped. The company had recently brought in a new CEO to lead its ailing handset division when the figures had dropped in the first quarter.
Second in line is LG Electronics. The success of devices like the LG Voyager has made it possible for the company to record profits in the second quarter. Holding 21 % of the market, the company shipped 8.8 million handsets. The third spot was nabbed by Samsung with 7.8 million units and covering nearly 19 % of the market.
For the first time Research in Motion (RIM) hit a double-digit market share with a fourth position. This is mainly due to the diverse portfolio of products by RIM. The company shipped nearly 4.5 million handsets. Nokia followed in the fifth place.
With no exact sale figures for the iPhone 3G, Apple apparently claimed that its second-generation smartphone did sell 1 million units in its debut weekend. The report however did not single out Apple’s iPhone. It showed that more than 14 % of the market was grabbed by “Others” who shipped about 6.1 million units.