Helped by strong growth in the smartphone area

Jul 2, 2010 13:21 GMT  ·  By

The mobile phone market in Western Europe has registered impressive growth during the first quarter of the ongoing year, a recent report from IDC states. According to the research company, the market went up 8.1 percent year on year to 42.7 million units in 1Q10, helped by a 57 increase in smartphone shipments in the time frame, which accounted for 28 percent of all mobile phones shipped in Q1, with a total of 12 million units. Shipments of traditional mobile phones decreased 4 percent on a yearly basis, reaching 30.7 million units in the three months period.

“The first quarter is traditionally tough for phone makers as operators clear out old stock from the previous holiday season,” said Francisco Jeronimo, European mobile devices research manager, IDC. “Still, operators are more cautious when launching new models and committing to high volumes, which drives more efficiency to their stock management policies and lower volumes to clear out after peak sales seasons. But last year's first quarter was the worst quarter ever for the mobile phone industry in the region, which makes this year's growth less expressive. On the other hand, the surge in smartphones also bolstered market growth at this time of the year.”

According to IDC, the segment of traditional mobile phones has been greatly impacted by the growth of smartphones. On a quarterly basis, the segment went down 30 percent, although the yearly decline was of only 4 percent. South Korean mobile phone makers Samsung and LG were impacted by this decline, the research firm notes, adding that these companies might not be prepared for a massive move in the smartphone segment as of yet.

In the smartphone area, the shipments increased to 12 million units, which represent a 56 percent growth when compared to the first quarter of the last year, although the number was 7 percent lower when compared to the fourth quarter of the last year. Apple, Research in Motion, and HTC enjoyed impressive increases in sales in the time frame, growing by more than 100 percent. On the OS side, Symbian remained the leader, though it's losing market share to iPhone and BlackBerry, while Android took the fourth position from Windows Mobile.

“Nokia faces fierce competition from Samsung and could lose market leadership in Western Europe in 2010. Samsung became the market leader in TMPs,” IDC notes. “Nokia's shipments decreased 9% year on year to 14 million units and market share declined from 39% a year ago to 33% in 1Q10. Smartphones increased 13% to 4.9 million units but at a significantly lower growth rate compared with the market growth. Nokia's market share in the segment slumped 16%, from 57% in 1Q09 to 41% in 1Q10. Nokia's TMP shipments declined 18% to 9.1 million units, performing poorly compared with the overall market and direct competitors Samsung and LG. Market share in this segment fell from 35% to 30%,” the research firm concluded.

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Mobbile phone market went up in Western Europe, IDC states
Mobbile phone market went up in Western Europe, IDC states
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