Smartphone shipments jump 43 percent

The second quarter saw 60 million smartphones shipped around the world, a 43 percent jump from a year ago, according to a study released Thursday.

Growth was driven by robust subsidies from carriers, strong competition between high-end vendors, and a rising selection of lower-cost phones running systems like Android and Symbian, according to the study. Overall, smartphones accounted for 19 percent of all handsets shipped during the period.

“The global smartphone industry is growing volume, but the industry’s value is beginning to feel the effects of intensifying competition,” Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics and the author of the study, said in a statement. “Dozens of vendors from the telecoms, PC and consumer electronics industries are piling into the market and driving down prices. Even established brands such as Nokia, RIM, and Apple are finding it increasingly hard to raise prices and profits in the face of such fierce competition.”

Among the three major smartphone players, Nokia’s market share dipped slightly to 40.3 percent compared with 40.7 percent in 2009′s second quarter. Second-place Research in Motion saw its slice of the market fall to 18.8 percent from 19.3 percent a year-ago. And third-place Apple watched its share grow to 14.1 percent from 12.5 percent in last year’s quarter.

(Credit: Strategy Analytics)

Though RIM is the top smartphone maker in North and South America, Nokia still holds a commanding lead around the world. Over the period, Nokia shipped 24 million phones, compared with RIM’s 11.2 million and Apple’s 8.4 million.

Apple continues to see a surge in iPhone shipments, sales, and profits. But the growing tide of recent criticism facing the company could take a toll on market share, according to Strategy Analytics.

As a result, Strategy Analytics believes Apple’s honeymoon period may be coming to an end and that it will need to work hard during the second half of the year to prevent lost heart share from turning into lost market share.

SOURCE: Cnet

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