RIM and Nokia fall behind Sony and HTC in smartphone market

As Samsung and Apple continue to exercise their stranglehold on the smartphone market, with both vendors accounting for almost 50 per cent of the market, Sony and HTC appear to have made the most significant inroads in Q3, having overtaken RIM and Nokia.
The smart phone market reached 173.7 million units during the third quarter of this year, growing 44 per cent year-on-year, according to Canalys. And having been absent from the top five for the past six years, Sony has rocketed up the rankings with 8.8 million units to occupy third place behind Apple and market leader Samsung. One of the key reasons for the brand’s resurrection appears to be the release of a host of new product in Q3, including the Xperia GX and SX.
Holding strong in fourth spot is HTC, with just under 5 per cent of the market. The vendor offered up a range of competitive products in Q2, such as the One Series and Desire V, prior to the launch of Apple’s iPhone 5. Pete Cunningham, Principal Analyst, commented: "While going head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been challenging, the vendor has had strong sequential growth in major developing markets, such as China and Indonesia. Q4 is going to be tough for it, along with the majority of Android- and Microsoft-based vendors, and continued investment in brand is of the utmost importance."
RIM stayed in fifth place, while North Asia-based vendors LG, ZTE, Lenovo and Huawei all shipped impressive quantities of their own-brand devices, overtaking Nokia, as the vendor and consumers waited for the October Windows Phone 8 launch.
Asia Pacific accounted for over 53 per cent of the worldwide smart phone market. With China breaking through the 50 million unit barrier this quarter. Samsung held on to its lead in China, despite strong competition from rising local Chinese vendors. Lenovo has moved into second place, assisted by volumes of lower-priced smartphones and a focus on its routes-to-market through distribution.
"When considering actual use of smart phones, however, the markets differ dramatically again, determined by network availability, speed, pricing and localisation. For example, data from the Canalys App Interrogator tool shows that the US market still leads in terms of app downloads and revenue," said Chris Jones, co-founder, vice president and Principal Analyst at Canalys. "For example, the US made up 45 per cent of all Apple iPhone app downloads in September, compared with just 11 per cent in China."
Regarding USA smartphone volumes in Q3, the iPhone 5 increased Apple's share sequentially to 38 per cent, with Samsung making up a quarter of the market. LG and Motorola followed as HTC dropped down the rankings. And, in spite of Sony’s international success, it currently holds less than 0.5 per cent market share in the US in Q3.
RIM held onto fifth place, while North Asia-based vendors LG, ZTE, Lenovo and Huawei all shipped impressive quantities of their own-brand devices. They overtook a struggling Nokia, as the vendor and consumers waited for the October Windows Phone 8 launch.
Asia Pacific accounted for over 53% of the worldwide smart phone market. China has been a powerful driver behind volumes again for many vendors and the market broke through the 50 million unit barrier this quarter. Samsung retained its lead in China, though its share has been under pressure from the rising local Chinese vendors, and remained the same as a year ago at 14%. Lenovo has moved into second place, assisted by volumes of lower-priced smart phones and a focus on its routes-to-market through distribution.
"When considering actual use of smart phones, however, the markets differ dramatically again, determined by network availability, speed, pricing and localization. For example, data from the Canalys App Interrogator tool shows that the US market still leads in terms of app downloads and revenue," said Chris Jones, Canalys co-founder, VP and Principal Analyst. "For example, the US made up 45% of all Apple iPhone app downloads in September, compared with just 11% in China."
For USA smart phone volumes in Q3 the iPhone 5 naturally boosted Apple's share sequentially, to 38%, with Samsung making up a quarter of the market. LG and Motorola came next as HTC slipped down the rankings. And though Sony has had global success, it must rethink its mobility strategy in the US where it held less than 0.5 per cent market share in Q3.

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