Smart phones shipments up 15% in 2009

LONDON — Despite 2009 being a year of economic crisis smart phone shipments were up strongly in the fourth quarter and full year, according to analysis firm IDC (Framingham, Mass.).

Vendors shipped a total of 54.5 million smart phones in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 39.0 percent from the same quarter a year ago. For the full year, vendors shipped a total of 174.2 million such units in 2009, up 15.1 percent from the 151.4 million units in 2008. Smart phones accounted for 15.4 percent of all mobile phones shipped in 2009, up slightly from 12.7 percent in 2008, IDC said.

"Increasingly, mobile phone users are seeking greater utility from their devices beyond telephony and messaging, and converged mobile devices fulfill that need," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "To help address demand, carriers took advantage of lower prices on many older devices, ordering additional units and, in turn, offering reduced prices to end users. It was the perfect set of conditions to push shipments to a record level."

IDC is predicting continued demand in 2010 with additional impetus from shifting landscape in mobile operating systems. "2009 was the coming-out party for Google's Android and Palm's webOS as both operating systems revealed new ways to surround the users with increased functionality," said IDC analyst Kevin Restivo, "More advances are in store for 2010 as Symbian and Windows are expected to unveil new versions of their respective operating systems. These and other operating systems will compete with attention-grabbing intuitiveness and seamlessness, a thriving mobile application library, and a compelling user experience that tightly holds on to the user."

The top five smart phone suppliers in 4Q09, with their market shares, were:

Nokia...38.2 percent
Research in Motion...19.6 percent
Apple...16.0 percent
Motorola...4.6 percent
HTC...4.4 percent
Others...17.2 percent

The top five smart phone suppliers in 2009, with their market shares, were:

Nokia...38.9 percent
Research in Motion...19.8 percent
Apple...14.4 percent
Motorola...4.6 percent
Samsung...3.3 percent
Others...19.0 percent

It can be seen that Apple and HTC gained market share at the expense of market leaders Nokia and BlackBerry and Samsung. Demand for the Apple iPhone continued unabated during the holiday quarter, and agreements with multiple carriers within the same market enabled further distribution. The fourth quarter also saw the launch of the iPhone at China Unicom.
Edition Peter Clarke EE Times

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