Android OS accounted for 52.5 pc smartphone sales

BANGALORE, INIDA: Worldwide sales of mobile devices totaled 440.5 million units in the third quarter of 2011, up 5.6 per cent from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc.

Non-smartphone devices performed well, driven by demand in emerging markets for low-cost devices from white-box manufacturers, and for dual-subscriber identity module (SIM) devices, the report added.

Analysts at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, being held here through November 23, today discussed the rapidly changing face of corporate mobility.

"Our forecast for the end of the year remains broadly in line at a worldwide level as regions such as Asia/Pacific and the Middle East and Africa make up for weaker performance in the Western European market," said Annette Zimmermann, principal analyst at Gartner based in Munich.

Smartphone sales to end users reached 115 million units in the third quarter of 2011, up 42 per cent from the third quarter of 2010.

Sequentially, smartphone sales slowed to 7 per cent growth from the second quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2011. Smartphone sales accounted for 26 per cent of all mobile phone sales, growing only marginally from 25 per cent in the previous quarter, said  a report from Gartner.

"Strong smartphone growth in China and Russia helped increase overall volumes in the quarter, but demand for smartphones stalled in advanced markets such as Western Europe and the U.S. as many users waited for new flagship devices featuring new versions of the key operating systems," said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Slowdowns also occurred in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa."

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Despite a drop in market share, Nokia continued to be the worldwide leader in mobile device sales as it accounted for 23.9 per cent of global sales.

Samsung became the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer worldwide as sales to end users tripled year over year to reach 24 million; sell in was high as the channel built inventory, reports Gartner.

The report further addded that analysts expect more competition in the fourth quarter of 2011, not least because sales of the iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS will capture share from Android manufacturers.

Apple shipped 17 million iPhones, an annual increase of 21 per cent, but down nearly 3 million units from the second quarter of 2011 because of Apple's new device announcement in October.

Gartner believes Apple will bounce back in the fourth quarter because of its strongest ever preorders for the iPhone 4S in the first weekend after its announcement.

The Android OS accounted for 52.5 per cent of smartphone sales to end users in the third quarter of 2011, more than doubling its market share from the third quarter of 2010.

"Android benefited from more mass-market offerings, a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems such as Windows Phone 7 and RIM," Ms. Cozza said.

"Apple's iOS market share suffered from delayed purchases as consumers waited for the new iPhone. Continued pressure is impacting RIM's performance, and its smartphone share reached its lowest point so far in the U.S. market, where it dropped to 10 per cent."