23 April 2011

Apple largest handset vendor by revenue in Q1

In first-quarter 2011 Apple overtook Nokia to become the world’s largest handset vendor in revenue terms, according to the latest report from market research firm Strategy Analytics. In revenue terms, Apple is now the world’s largest handset vendor, smartphone vendor and tablet vendor.

“We estimate Apple’s wholesale revenues for its iPhone handset division stood at US$11.9bn in the first quarter of 2011,” says senior analyst Alex Spektor. “Apple overtook Nokia for the first time, which recorded a lower US$9.4bn of wholesale handset revenues. With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, the PC vendor has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years,” he adds.

“Apple’s proprietary ecosystem of hardware, software and services has proven wildly popular and hugely profitable,” comments Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics. “However, rivals are chasing hard, particularly the Android vendor community, whose global installed base of smartphones we estimate will exceed that of Apple’s by the end of 2011,” he notes. “Nokia is also investing heavily with Microsoft and Apple will be a key target for them next year.”

See related items:

Handset sales up 20.8% year-on-year to 382.9m in Q1

Mobile phone market grows 17.9% year-on-year in Q4

Handset shipments reach 400 million in Q4/2010

Tags: Apple Mobile handset shipments

Visit: www.strategyanalytics.com