Boston — Strategy Analytics, a global research and consulting firm, released a study Friday that showed Apple had become the world’s number one smartphone vendor in the second quarter of 2011.
Growing 76 percent annually to reach 110 million units in Q2, global smartphone shipments have put Apple and Samsung above Nokia in the top two ranking spots.
According to the research, Apple controlled a fifth of the smartphone market, shipping 20 million iPhones. Samsung climbed to second place, selling 19.2 million while owning 17.5 percent of the market. Nokia slid to third, with market share falling 15.2 percent from 38.1 percent just a year ago.
“Samsung overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 2011,” said Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics. “Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually, for 17 percent global smartphone market share. Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model.”
Nokia, who in 2010 became the first manufacturer to ship over 100 million smartphones in a single year , according to director at Strategic Analytics Tom Kang, has seen this decline as a result of more consumers diving into the iPhone and Android markets — markets that boast updated technology, including cloud technology, huge app stores and faster speed.
In reaction to these trends, Nokia has moved away from its Symbian operating system to partner with Microsoft and has switched to a Windows Phone operating system.
Android overtook all other smartphone operating systems in the fourth quarter of 2009, replacing Symbian at the top and leaving Apple’s iOS in third place.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3dlbkej (CNET)
http://tinyurl.com/3j7n8sd (Business Wire)
