Smartphone shipment achieves 1 billion in 2013, breaks record

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The worldwide smartphone market has reached to the next level with 1 billion units being shipped .in one single year for the first time. According to the latest IDC report, vendors shipped a total of 1,004.2 million smartphones worldwide in the year 2013, which is 38.4 percent more than the 725.3 million units shipped in 2012.

Out of all shipped devices, smartphones accounted for 55.1 per cent, while the number stood at 41.7 percent in 2012. The last quarter of 2013 accounted total shipment of 284.4 million smartphones worldwide.

Commenting on this immense growth, Ramon Llamas, Research manager, IDC (Mobile Phone team) said: "The sheer volume and strong growth attest to the smartphone's continued popularity in 2013. Total smartphone shipments reached 494.4 million units worldwide in 2011, and doubling that volume in just two years demonstrates strong end-user demand and vendor strategies to highlight smartphones."

The growth in smartphone market was derived by the phablets and low cost devices, revealed the report. Out of all the brands it was Samsung who stood tall with the maximum number of shipments. Despite its top line smartphones like the Galaxy S III, S4, and Note models, as well as its deep selection of mid-range and entry-level models, the company reported a fall in its last quarter compared to Q4 2013. However, the South Korean firm maintained a sizable double-digit lead over the next vendor.

Samsung was followed by Apple which posted record shipment volume during the fourth quarter of 2013, owing to its reach many new countries with its latest iPhones - iPhone 5s and 5c. Then comes Huawei who maintained its number three position worldwide. It attained the highest year-on-year increase among the leading vendors.

Lenovo secured the fourth position despite the fact that it has no presence in North America and Western Europe, reason being that the firm has made its products available in all the key markets. Credit is also given to its detailed product portfolio which has something for everyone.

With this Samsung tops the list and brands like Nokia and HTC are nowhere to be seen in the top five.

According to this report, it is also evident that users across the world were using Android devices more and Windows is still struggling to make its presence felt on mobile devices.