Android Owns 48% of the Global Smartphone Market
According to recent numbers from Canalys, Android leads the global smartphone market, while Apple’s iOS leapfrogged Nokia’s Symbian platform to take second-place honors.
Overall, more than 107.7 million smartphone units shipped in the second quarter of 2011, a 73 percent increase from the same quarter last year.
Asia Pacific (APAC) remains the largest regional market, with 39.8 million units shipping to the region in the second quarter. Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) followed with 35.0 million units, while the Americas had 32.9 million units shipped there.
Android claimed 48 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, leading the way in 35 of the 56 countries Canalys tracks. Android-based smartphone shipments were up 379 percent from a year ago to 51.9 million units. This growth was driven by strong performances from vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola.
According to Canalys, APAC countries are a stronghold for Android. In South Korea, for instance, Android boasts an 85 percent share. In Taiwan, Android claims 71 percent of the market.
Apple’s iOS overtook Nokia’s Symbian to claim the No. 2 spot in the second quarter, as 20.3 million iPhones were shipped, giving iOS 19 percent of the market.
This feat also made Apple the world’s leading individual smartphone vendor, outdoing Nokia, the once-constant leader in that regard.
Nokia not only conceded its leadership position to Apple – it fell to third behind Samsung. Nevertheless, Canalys Vice President and Principal Analyst Chris Jones says Samsung has “failed to fully capitalize on Nokia’s weakened state around the world, as the Finnish company rides out a challenging transitional period.”
Still, Nokia remains a stubborn leader in key emerging markets, and continues to be the leader in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
In North America, HTC notched notable success, as its market share climbed to 21 percent to place it behind only Apple, which claimed 25 percent of the market, down from its 31 percent share last quarter.
RIM suffered in the second quarter in North America, as its market share continued its landslide to 12 percent. The Canadian maker of BlackBerry’s market share was 33 percent just a year ago.
Nevertheless, RIM continues to grow its shipments (up 11 percent year-over-year), and remains the No. 1 vendor in Latin America, where it has 28 percent of the market.
Source:
http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/android-takes-almost-50-share-worldwide-smart-phone-market
