Apple becomes the largest global smartphone manufacturer, says IDC report
Riding high on the massive popularity of the iPhone, Apple has become the largest global smartphone manufacturer in the second quarter, says a report released by International Data Corp (IDC). The global shipments of Apple smartphones rose nearly 65 percent with respect to the same period of the previous year. Apple rolled out some 20.3 million units, grabbing a market share of 19.1 percent. Year-over-year, its presence grew by 141.7 percent. Apple is followed by Samsung and Nokia, while RIM and HTC bring up the rear.
Ramon Llamas, an IDC analayst, says in the report that Apple witnessed a remarkable growth since the launch of its iPhone in 2007. He also notes that demands of iPhones have been really strong and that the some one or two year old models are still being sought out. And observing that growth, the IDC believes the volumes are set to reach higher levels.
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Even though Apple tops as the leading smartphone manufacturer, its iOS software is not the largest one globally. That spot has been grabbed by Android, Google’s mobile operating system. Android is presently used by a number of smartphone manufacturing companies such as Samsung and HTC.
According to the IDC report, Apple’s popularity stems from the iPhones, which is sold through more than 200 carrier across the world. It also notes that Apple of late has boosted its manufacturing capacity – yet another reason for the remarkable success. However, Apple could not break Nokia’s record of shipping 28 million units in single-quarter.
Samsung, which followed Apple at the number 2 spot, rolled out nearly 17.3 million smartphones in the second quarter. Samsung saw nearly 380 percent growth in the second quarter of 2010. According to IDC, the massive popularity of Galaxy S smartphones helped Samsung achieve such an astonishing growth.
Once-leading Nokia remains at the third spot as it shipped out some 16.7 million smartphones. BlackBerry makers, Research in Motion, finish fourth with some 12.4 million smartphones shipped in the quarter. RIM manages a growth of only 10 percent. According to IDC, RIM rolled out very few models this year as compared to its rivals and that could have been a reason for such a dip. HTC at the number five spot rolled out some 11.7 million units in the second quarter.
IDC in its report, however, stresses that even though Apple has bagged the number one spot this quarter, no one is a runaway leader and that the top five ranking can change in the coming quarters.
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