Back with a bang
Market researcher IDC says the mobile phone market grew by 11.3 percent year-on-year. While this has to be viewed in the context of a bad Q4 2008, it still marks a dramatic return to growth after five consecutive quarters of contraction. The 1.13 billion units shipped in the whole of 2009 were down 5.2 percent on 2008.
The real growth area has been smartphones or, as IDC calls them, converged mobile devices, which look set to continue to drive the market. Additionally, the Americas and Asia/Pac regions seem to have recovered quicker than EMEA.
"Consumer tastes for mobile phones have increasingly shifted from simple voice telephony to greater data usage, and both handset vendors and carriers have been eager to meet demand despite ongoing economic challenges," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC.
"IDC believes that the converged mobile device market grew nearly 30% year over year, and that the market will continue to gain momentum as device selection increases and price decreases continue into 2010 and beyond."
"Economic recovery mixed with pent-up demand will create positive conditions for handset vendors in both developed and emerging markets in 2010. Meanwhile, key handset vendors expect to exceed their 2009 shipment levels with refreshed portfolios, leveraging interest in touchscreens, messaging devices, and converged mobile devices."
Here's how the top five phone vendors fared in Q4 and over the whole year. As you can see, Sony Ericsson and Motorola lost market share to everyone else, with the Koreans looking especially strong.
Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q4 2009 (Units in Millions)
|
Vendor |
4Q09 Shipment Volumes |
4Q09 Market Share |
4Q08 Shipment Volumes |
4Q08 Market Share |
4Q09/4Q08 Growth |
|
1. Nokia |
126.9 |
39.0% |
113.1 |
38.7% |
12.2% |
|
2. Samsung |
68.8 |
21.1% |
52.8 |
18.1% |
30.3% |
|
3. LG |
33.9 |
10.4% |
25.7 |
8.8% |
31.9% |
|
4. Sony Ericsson |
14.6 |
4.5% |
24.2 |
8.3% |
-39.7% |
|
5. Motorola |
12.0 |
3.7% |
19.2 |
6.6% |
-37.5% |
|
Others |
69.1 |
21.2% |
57.4 |
19.6% |
20.4% |
|
Total |
325.3 |
100.0% |
292.4 |
100.0% |
11.3% |
Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, 2009 (Units in Millions)
|
Vendor |
2009 Shipment Volumes |
2009 Market Share |
2008 Shipment Volumes |
2008 Market Share |
2009/2008 Growth |
|
1. Nokia |
431.8 |
38.3% |
468.4 |
39.4% |
-7.8% |
|
2. Samsung |
227.2 |
20.1% |
196.6 |
16.5% |
15.6% |
|
3. LG |
117.9 |
10.5% |
100.8 |
8.5% |
17.0% |
|
4. Sony Ericsson |
57.1 |
5.1% |
96.6 |
8.1% |
-40.9% |
|
5. Motorola |
55.2 |
4.9% |
100.1 |
8.4% |
-44.9% |
|
Others |
238.6 |
21.2% |
227.6 |
19.1% |
4.8% |
|
Total |
1,127.8 |
100.0% |
1,190.1 |
100.0% |
-5.2% |
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, January 28, 2009
Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
