1 August 2011

Handset shipments grow 13% year-on-year to 361 million in Q2

Despite multiple debt crises and economic volatility worldwide, global handset shipments grew 13% year-on-year to 361 million units in second-quarter 2011, according to a report from market research firm Strategy Analytics' Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service.

“Apple was a star performer during the quarter, as it shipped a record 20.3 million units [up from just 8.4 million a year ago] and closed the global market share gap with [third-place] LG to its lowest ever level of just over one point,” says senior analyst Alex Spektor. Apple's market share consequently more than doubled, from 2.6% to 5.6%.

“LG’s 3G smartphone volumes are expanding fast, but the Korean vendor is struggling to grow in the 2G feature phone and basic phone sub-categories,” Spektor adds. LG’s unit shipments fell year-on-year from 30.6 million to 24.8 million, cutting its market share from 9.6% to just 6.9%.

Leading handset maker Nokia’s global market share dropped sharply from 34.7% in Q2/2010 to 24.5% in Q2/2011 (its lowest level since 1999), as its shipments fell from 111.1 million to 88.5 million units. “Samsung is now just 4 points behind and breathing down Nokia’s neck,” says Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics. “An unexciting touchphone portfolio, inventory correction, wavering demand for the Symbian platform, and limited presence in the huge US market continued to weigh on Nokia’s near-term performance,” he adds.

Samsung’s shipments rose from 63.8 million to 74 million handsets worldwide in Q2/2011, raising its market share from 19.9% to 20.5%. Its smartphone volumes soared but its global feature phone and basic phone market share fell slightly, due to intense competition from Chinese brands like TCL-Alcatel and ZTE.

ZTE maintained an upward growth trend during the quarter. Keen pricing of low-end 2G models and aggressive promoting of mid-range 3G models enabled the Chinese vendor to capture 5% global handset market share (up from 3.3% a year ago), as shipments rose from just 10.5 million to 18 million units, notes Strategy Analytics.

Table: Handset vendor shipments and market share in Q2/2011.

See related items:

Mobile phone market up 11.3% in Q2, despite feature phones declining

Apple largest handset vendor by revenue in Q1

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

Tags: Mobile handset shipments

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