Economy impacts smartphone sales growth
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Mark Long
According to Gartner, smartphone unit sales in the second quarter of 2008 rose 15.7 percent in comparison with the year-earlier period. However, the research firm noted that the subcategory's share of the cellular handset market remained flat at 11 percent.
"The current economic environment continues to negatively impact the market, limiting consumer spending and replacement purchases in general," explained Roberta Cozza, a Gartner principal analyst. "In addition, smartphone sales slowed down as a result of new compelling touch technology mainly available on enhanced phones rather than smartphones."
During the second quarter, smartphone sales to end users in North America grew at an impressive 78.7 percent year-over-year clip, and with the region accounting for nearly 25 percent of all unit sales globally, Cozza said. However, she cautioned that we need to see these numbers from the right perspective.
A total of 44.1 million cellular phones were sold in North America during the second quarter, whereas smartphone sales amounted to just 8 million units. "So smartphones are still just a tiny percentage of the entire phone market in North America, though it is still a category that is growing," Cozza said.
Though North America's economic climate remains challenging, there are plenty of "people who are happy to spend money on higher-end devices," Cozza said. "Obviously, the big driver of regional growth is the iPhone, which has made more consumers aware of the advantages of higher-end phones."
The biggest second-quarter surprise occurred in the Asia/Pacific, where smartphone unit sales declined by 4.8 percent. Cozza attributed the negative growth to a sharp year-over-year decline in the sale of Linux-based smartphones.
"Last year Motorola still had good volumes coming from the Linux-based devices that it was selling into China," Cozza explained. "Just recently Motorola announced a product refresh, but it came a bit too late."
Research In Motion saw its global sales rise by a stunning 126 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. By increasing its global reach, the BlackBerry maker continued to execute well at the consumer level, Cozza observed. Moreover, the company is expected to launch some smartphones based on new form factors later this year.
Nokia held on to the No. 1 position globally with a 47.5 percent market share in the second quarter. However, the market leader's year-over-year growth lagged the market average by 50 percent due to increased competition in the consumer market segment.
"To stay competitive, Nokia will need to introduce more design variations amongst its N-series models and keep innovating," Cozza explained. "The expected introduction of a touch-screen smartphone in the second half of 2008 will test the company's capability to show differentiation and innovation."
The iPhone took a temporary 2.8 percent nosedive in the second quarter due to Apple's need to clear store shelves in advance of launching the new 3G model. However, Cozza expects Apple's unit sales to grow significantly in the remainder of this year.
Global smartphone sales rose by 22 percent year-over-year to 64 million units in the first half of the year. Though unit shipments during the period increased at a lower rate than in 2007, Cozza expects to see unit growth resume its upward climb in the quarter currently under way.
"Wider availability of new touch smartphone models, together with the global introduction of the iPhone 3G, will help sales of smartphones return to stronger growth in the third quarter," she said.
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toptech news
According to Gartner, smartphone unit sales in the second quarter of 2008 rose 15.7 percent in comparison with the year-earlier period. However, the research firm noted that the subcategory's share of the cellular handset market remained flat at 11 percent.
"The current economic environment continues to negatively impact the market, limiting consumer spending and replacement purchases in general," explained Roberta Cozza, a Gartner principal analyst. "In addition, smartphone sales slowed down as a result of new compelling touch technology mainly available on enhanced phones rather than smartphones."
During the second quarter, smartphone sales to end users in North America grew at an impressive 78.7 percent year-over-year clip, and with the region accounting for nearly 25 percent of all unit sales globally, Cozza said. However, she cautioned that we need to see these numbers from the right perspective.
A total of 44.1 million cellular phones were sold in North America during the second quarter, whereas smartphone sales amounted to just 8 million units. "So smartphones are still just a tiny percentage of the entire phone market in North America, though it is still a category that is growing," Cozza said.
Though North America's economic climate remains challenging, there are plenty of "people who are happy to spend money on higher-end devices," Cozza said. "Obviously, the big driver of regional growth is the iPhone, which has made more consumers aware of the advantages of higher-end phones."
The biggest second-quarter surprise occurred in the Asia/Pacific, where smartphone unit sales declined by 4.8 percent. Cozza attributed the negative growth to a sharp year-over-year decline in the sale of Linux-based smartphones.
"Last year Motorola still had good volumes coming from the Linux-based devices that it was selling into China," Cozza explained. "Just recently Motorola announced a product refresh, but it came a bit too late."
Research In Motion saw its global sales rise by a stunning 126 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. By increasing its global reach, the BlackBerry maker continued to execute well at the consumer level, Cozza observed. Moreover, the company is expected to launch some smartphones based on new form factors later this year.
Nokia held on to the No. 1 position globally with a 47.5 percent market share in the second quarter. However, the market leader's year-over-year growth lagged the market average by 50 percent due to increased competition in the consumer market segment.
"To stay competitive, Nokia will need to introduce more design variations amongst its N-series models and keep innovating," Cozza explained. "The expected introduction of a touch-screen smartphone in the second half of 2008 will test the company's capability to show differentiation and innovation."
The iPhone took a temporary 2.8 percent nosedive in the second quarter due to Apple's need to clear store shelves in advance of launching the new 3G model. However, Cozza expects Apple's unit sales to grow significantly in the remainder of this year.
Global smartphone sales rose by 22 percent year-over-year to 64 million units in the first half of the year. Though unit shipments during the period increased at a lower rate than in 2007, Cozza expects to see unit growth resume its upward climb in the quarter currently under way.
"Wider availability of new touch smartphone models, together with the global introduction of the iPhone 3G, will help sales of smartphones return to stronger growth in the third quarter," she said.
......................
toptech news