Consumer Electronics
Apple Losing Share as Global Smartphone Sales Top Feature Phone Sales for First Time
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Global mobile phone sales totaled 435 million units in the second quarter of 2013, and of that total, some 225 million units, or 51.8%, were smartphones. That is the first time that smartphone sales have ever surpassed sales of feature phones, according to research firm Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT).
By smartphone handset manufacturer, Samsung Electronics extended its market share lead to 31.7% of the global market, up from 29.7% a year ago, while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw its handset share shrink to 14.2%, down from 18.8% in the second quarter a year ago.
Smartphone sales grew fastest in the Asia/Pacific region, up 74.1%, followed by an increase of 55.7% in Latin America and 31.6% in Eastern Europe.
The Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) now claims 79% of the global platform market, up from about 64% a year ago. Apple’s share of the platform market dipped from 18.8% to 14.2%, as with the company’s handsets.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) gained platform share, growing from 2.6% a year ago to 3.3% this year. BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) lost nearly half its market share, dropping from 5.2% a year ago to 2.7%.
On the basis of total sales of smartphones plus feature phones, Samsung boosted its market share from 21.5% a year ago to 24.7% this year. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw its share drop from 19.9% to 14.0%, and Apple’s share grew from 6.9% to 7.3%.
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