The smartphone market is both growing and shifting at the same time — and in some very significant ways, according to the latest global market share data from Gartner. The call-out news is that Android-based devices (9.6% share) have passed Windows Mobile devices (6.8%) for the first time, landing at fourth place behind Nokia/Symbian (44.3%), RIM/Blackberry (19.4%) and Apple iPhone (15.4%). On the feature-phone side of the house, Nokia (35%) leads Samsung (20.6%), LG (8.6%) and a host of other players.
Said Gartner of the smartphone sector:
In the smartphone OS market, Android and Apple were the winners in the first quarter of 2010. Android moved to the No. 4 position displacing Microsoft Windows Mobile for the first time. Both Android and Apple were the only two OSs vendors among the top five to increase market share year-on-year. Symbian remained in the No. 1 position but continued to lose as Nokia remains weak in the high-end portfolio.
Smartphones accounted for 17.3 per cent of all mobile handset sales in the first quarter of 2010, up from 13.6 per cent in the same period in 2009.
As seen with the iPad and web books based on Google’s Android platform, mobile OS ecosystems are developing and will move beyond smartphones to continue to deliver consumer value and a rich user experience,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner.
Connected Planet’s take,
Kevin Fitchard:
Also, of interest in Gartner’s report is that RIM cracked the top five in handset shipments. For a company that solely produces smartphones, RIM not only has made huge strides, but it’s shown just how prevalent smartphones have become. Smartphones now make up 17.3% of all phone sales, and while RIM may still be long way from catching up with Nokia, Nokia’s 10-times-greater shipments are dominated by phones in the low end. RIM has a much higher selling price and a much higher profit on each device.
What remains to be seen is how Android will impact the market in the next few years. All of the other top OSes are supported mainly by one supplier (Symbian is still largely seen as Nokia’s pet operating system), while all of the major manufacturers except Nokia have starting making Android devices. Android shipments have grown by a factor of 10 already in the last year, and as more devices appear Android could win out with sheer variety. The iPhone is powerful, but it’s just one device.
That’s our take on this. Let us know what you think in the comments section below: