Samsung overtakes Apple as the world’s biggest shipper of smartphones

This is a guest post from Jon Smith  | EMEA E-Marketing Specialist | Insight UK

Samsung overtook Apple to become the world's biggest shipper of smartphones between July and September. Samsung have always been one of Apple’s strongest competitors in the smartphone market constantly designing innovative new phones and now tablets.

Statistics showed that Samsung shipped a whopping 27.8 million smartphones in the three-month period, compared with 17.1 million from Apple and 16.8 million from Nokia.

Nokia was the top handset shipper with 27.3% in market share, followed by Samsung with 22.6% and LG with 5.4%. Could this be a real shift in power for Apple, after years of dominance in the smartphone market, and let’s face it, it’s a market they created, Apple appear to be slipping down the popularity list.

Samsung’s success has been driven by its adoption of Google’s Android software for both smartphones and tablets; it has also announced a new model, called the Galaxy Nexus, which it has built in direct collaboration with Google. Although it is one of Apple's largest suppliers of components, the two are also locked in an increasingly bitter legal battle over mobile phone patents. 

According to Strategy Analytics, “Samsung’s rise has been driven by a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution. Samsung has demonstrated that it is possible, at least in the short term, to differentiate and grow by using the Android ecosystem.” 

Overall, smartphones make up 44 per cent of the global mobile market, shipping 117 million units last quarter. Nokia remains the world’s largest phone maker overall, but their market share fell five percentage points to 27.3%, compared to Samsung with 22.6 per cent. ZTE is in fourth place, with Apple in fifth place overall.

The debate still rages about which smartphones are the best, but ultimately it come down to; what you are going to use it for, personal preference and price. 

This is a guest post from Jon Smith  | EMEA E-Marketing Specialist | Insight UK

Apple full-year profits rise 85%

Apple, the world’s biggest technology company, is now getting bigger. They have reported full year results, showing net profit for the year to 25 September at $25.9bn (£16.5bn), up 85% from the previous year. Apple's total revenue for the year was $108 Billion, a 66% increase compared to 2010.

However, such a monumental rise in profit was not enough to satisfy Wall Street, with share prices falling by nearly 5% in after-hours trading. This may have been as a result of the disappointment in no new products being developed in the 4^th quarter of the year, it was also the first set of results since the death of technology visionary Steve Jobs.

In the fourth quarter of the year, Apple sold 17.1 million iPhone's, which was a 21% increase on the same period last year, and 11.1 million iPads, which was a 166% increase, demonstrating how popular the iPad is and how it is well and truly dominating the tablet market.

Apple said sales may have been dampened by customers waiting for the release of the iPhone 4s, however now that it is here sales has sky rocketed. Apple received 1million pre-orders for the smartphone in the first 24 hours after it was announced and by day three they had sold over 3million.

Apple sold 4.9 million Mac computers in the quarter - up 27% over the same period last year. Apple seem to continue to break financial records as their impressive growth continues with each new product release.

As if that wasn't enough Apple has already forecast-ed revenue of around $37 billion for the first quarter of next year which has been boosted by the sales of the new iPhone 4s. Only time will tell whether Apple can continue this impressive growth especially in a post Steve Jobs era. 



This is a guest post from Jon Smith  | EMEA E-Marketing Specialist | Insight UK