14 DAY TRIAL // In comparison with the first quarter of 2009, the global mobile phone market has increased by approximately 21.7% in the same period of 2010. The ever increasing demand for smartphones and the global economic growth are some of the main factors that led to this strong rebound. A study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), has revealed that in the first quarter of 2010, vendors shipped 294.9 million units compared with the 242.4 million units shipped in the same period last year.
Due to the market's increasing demand for smartphones, Research In Motion has made its first appearance in the top 5 vendor rankings worldwide. RIM made a very strong entrance by replacing Motorola in the top 5, and shared fourth place with Sony Ericsson, in IDC's first quarter rankings of 2010. In Q1 2010, RIM shipped over 10.6 million devices, outrunning Motorola by almost 2 million units. Motorola's consistent share loss since 2004 was mainly attributed to the market's rising interest in high-end devices and smartphones, which allowed handset vendors like RIM or Apple to become the industry's leading manufacturers.
"That the mobile phone market has rebounded by double digits year over year in a post-holiday quarter is definitely good news for the industry," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "Whereas last year we saw much uncertainty around demand and overall reluctance to introduce new devices, vendors have been very vocal about their intentions this year, with some even launching new devices in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, the continued emphasis on converged mobile devices points to greater revenue generation and profitability opportunities for vendors, which is a welcome change compared to the same quarter a year ago."
The Asian/Pacific region had a good start this year mainly supported by the number of shipments in Greater China. The wide array of low-cost smartphones and touchscreen-enabled devices available on the Asian markets has also played an important role in keeping the shipment volumes at a steady level. Another mobile phone market that had a good start in this year's first quarter is the Western European one, which registered a healthy growth in the smartphone and touchscreen segments. Unlike the European or Asian markets, the United States and Canadian ones declined constantly throughout the first quarter. However, the launch of Google's Nexus One in the U.S. and the Samsung Galaxy Spica in Canada managed to keep customers interested in the smartphone segment. The Latin American market also increased mainly thanks to the high demand for feature phones and the expansion of the social networking app market in the region.
Nokia had a strong start in the first quarter of 2010, positioning itself as the number one mobile phone vendor in the world. The company shipped over 107.8 million devices in 1Q10, a 16% growth compared to the same period last year. Samsung, the number two mobile phone vendor, has been holding this position since the beginning of 2007, registering total shipment volumes bigger than those of LG, RIM and Sony Ericsson combined. Third place is occupied by LG, which continues to maintain a 20% increase in shipments every year, even if total revenues decreased due to reduced prices. At its first appearance in the top five vendors, surpassing Motorola's shipments by almost 2 million units, it has the highest average selling price in the top 5 because of its singular focus on the smartphone segment. The fifth place is held by Sony Ericsson, which, through cost reduction and introduction of new products, succeeded in returning to profitability.