Smartphone Market Up 50% YOY in Q2 2010

The smartphone market went up by 50 percent during the second quarter of the ongoing year, a recent report from IDC shows. A total number of 63 million units in Q2 2010, up from 41.9 million units, have been sold during the same time frame a year ago. The International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that, during the first half of the ongoing year, smartphone market went up 54 percent when compared to the first six months of the last year.

The total number of smartphones shipped during the time frame was of 118.3 million units, up from the 76.8 million units that were shipped during the first half of 2009. Among the smartphone OSes, the Android platform registered the highest growth, it seems. IDC's 2Q10 smartphone Top 10 vendor rankings shows that four Android smartphone vendors posted year-over-year growth rates greater than 100 percent.

“Emerging smartphone suppliers, such as HTC, that are allied closely with Google gained share at the expense of the historic top smartphone players last quarter,” says Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program. “This is largely a result of greater consumer interest in smartphones generally and Android devices in particular.”

Nokia maintained its market leader position during the quarter, even if it faces increasing competition at the higher end of the market. Research In Motion registered increase in sales too, though not as much as originally expected, it seems. Apple kept its third position on the smartphone market, though it seems that HTC, which doubled it shipment volumes when compared to the last year, is trying to catch up. The second largest handset vendor in the world, Samsung, went to the fifth place in Q2 2010, leaving Motorola behind and posting its highest growth rate in the segment since Q3 2008, IDC notes.

“The worldwide smartphone market will continue this explosive growth in the second half of 2010, setting up a critical starting point for 2011,” says Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. “That more smartphone models will be launched is a given, but just as important is the anticipated launch of several refreshed operating systems. Both BlackBerry and Symbian^3 are poised with fresh, yet familiar experiences while Windows Phone 7 promises a complete break from previous versions. All these are expected to launch in the second half of 2010, and their reception among end-users will indicate their future in this fast-growing segment of the market for 2011 and beyond.”