Samsung tops Nokia in Q1 handset race - Computerworld

IDG News Service - Samsung beat Nokia to the top position in the global handset market in the first quarter of 2012, research firms Strategy Analytics and IHS iSuppli said Friday.

The research firms however disagreed on Samsung's smartphone shipments in the first quarter with iSuppli giving Apple the top position in smartphones, while Strategy Analytics called in favor of Samsung.

The Korean company shipped 93.5 million handsets in the first quarter, up from 69 million units a year earlier, for a 25% share of the market, even as global handset shipments grew a little over 3% annually to reach 368 million units in the quarter, Strategy Analytics said.

In contrast, Nokia's handset shipments were down 24% year-on-year to 82.7 million units, giving it a 22.5% share. Shipments of its low-end feature phone stalled in emerging markets while its high-end Lumia smartphones, based on Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, were unable to make up for a decline in Nokia's legacy Symbian business, according to Strategy Analytics.

In the first quarter of last year, Nokia had a 30.4% share to Samsung's 19.3% share, indicating a significant shift in the handset market, as Nokia tries to manage a difficult transition amidst stiff competition from Samsung and Apple, and a number of vendors of low-cost devices.

Samsung's success reflects a shift in the wireless market, where cellphone market growth is being generated exclusively by the smartphone segment, and not by feature phones and other low-cost entry phones, iSuppli said. Smartphones accounted for 34% of Samsung's handset shipments in the first quarter, in contrast to 14% of Nokia's shipments, the research firm said.

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Apple's iPhone shipments almost doubled to 35 million units in the quarter, increasing its share to 9.5% from 5.2% a year earlier, according to Strategy Analytics. But Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S3 flagship model could slow iPhone's growth in some regions if it is well received by operators and consumers, it said.

Samsung shipped 92 million handsets to 83 million by Nokia, and 35 million by Apple in the first quarter, according to iSuppli. It said its tally of global shipments of handsets included only those vendors that have reported results for the first quarter so far. The research firm put Samsung's shipments of smartphones in the first quarter at 32 million, putting it in second place to Apple.

Strategy Analytics, in contrast, said Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones in the first quarter for a 30.6% share, while Apple shipped 35 million units for a 24.1% share. Nokia had a 8.2% share.

Samsung saw smartphones shipments grow by almost four-times from the same quarter last year, backed strong demand for its popular Galaxy models such as the Note, S2 and Y, Strategy Analytics said. Nokia's Lumia phones have taken off in the U.S., but that surge cannot make up for falling sales in its phones running the Symbian operating system, it said.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.