According to Gartner, worldwide smartphone sales reached its lowest growth rate with 11.5% increase in 3rd quarter of 2008. It also says that Nokia is the #1 smartphone manufacturer/seller:
Worldwide smartphone sales to end-users totalled 36.5 million units in the third quarter of 2008, an 11.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2007.
:Nokia maintained its No. 1 position with 42.4 per cent market share in the third quarter of 2008, but for the first time it recorded a decline in sales of 3 per cent year-on-year (see Table 1). “Nokia is feeling the pressure from increased competition in the consumer smartphone market,” said Ms Cozza.
Table: Worldwide: Preliminary Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor, 3Q08 (Thousands of Units)
|
Company |
3Q08 Sales |
3Q08 Market Share (%) |
3Q07 Sales |
3Q07 Market Share (%) |
3Q08- 3Q07 Growth (%) |
|
Nokia |
15,472 |
42.4 |
15,964 |
48.7 |
-3.1 |
|
Research In Motion |
5,800 |
15.9 |
3,192 |
9.7 |
81.7 |
|
Apple |
4,720 |
12.9 |
1,104 |
3.4 |
327.5 |
|
HTC |
1,656 |
4.5 |
1,315 |
4.0 |
25.9 |
|
Sharp |
1,239 |
3.4 |
1,535 |
4.7 |
-19.3 |
|
Others |
7,626 |
20.9 |
9,643 |
29.4 |
-20.9 |
|
Total |
36,515 |
100.0 |
32,753 |
100.0 |
11.5 |
I believe Nokia’s lack of touchscreen handset that competed with the iPhone and Android (and others) really harmed them in 2008, and that releasing a touch-based handset in 2009 should be a top priority for Nokia.
ceo