Apple Becomes Fourth-Largest Mobile Phone Vendor

[MacRumors]

Research firm IDC yesterday released results for global mobile phone unit sales in the third quarter of 2010, highlighting Apple's leap into the top five vendors to grab the fourth spot behind Nokia, Samsung, and LG, and ahead of Research in Motion.

Apple leapt ahead of several vendors in 3Q10 including RIM, which it surpassed by 1.7-million units, and Sony Ericsson by 3.7-million units. The company's record shipment performance can be attributed to the introduction of the iPhone 4 in 17 new countries last quarter. The record performance came despite "Antennagate," the name used to describe the controversy around alleged iPhone reception problems, in July.

Apple's 90.5% year-over-year growth dramatically outpaced the overall industry's 14.6% increase.

The report points to the key role smartphones are playing in the growth of the broader mobile phone industry, with Apple and Research in Motion both having joined the top five overall mobile phone vendors over the past few quarters and showing the strongest growth among those companies. Based on expectations of a continuation of that trend, IDC projects that the smartphone market will grow by 55% this year.

Article Link: Apple Becomes Fourth-Largest Mobile Phone Vendor

 

[LanPhantom]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Go Apple Go.

 

[Zimmer62943]

Only 96 million to go

 

[croooow]

Not bad for a company that has only made 4 different models of phones (and 2 of those look virtually identical)

 

[acidfast7]

at 90% growth being a useful statistic.

 

[hamlin]

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

 

[dlewis23]

Nice. But will probably be a while before they pass LG.

 

[tigress666]

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

Because people with Nokia phones just want a phone, nothing complicated. They probably aren't taking it out for everything because the only thing it really is for is calling. Nor do they care to take it out, they probably just have it cause they have to have a phone (or want a phone where they go) but not cause they want to fool with some gadget (My parents are like htis, they just want a simple phone. The simpler the better. They don't like gadgets and just wnt a phone). So you don't see them with the phone out.

On top of that you also don't get hte people who like to be seen with their shiny toy cause of that mentality as well so they aren't making sure it is out for everyone to see (I'm not saying everyone with smartphones are like that but you certainly do get that mentality. It was the same when cellphones weren't so common that absolutely everyone had one. Now having a cellphone isn't a status symbol).

So yeah, you see more people with smartphones cause they are more likely to have their phone out for everyone to see.

 

[acidfast7]

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

Globally.

Nokia is huge in Europe (especially in Northern Europe.)

I've noticed that the percentage of Americans who go with a prepaid SIM/uSIM is really small compared to Europe. Most of the prepaid people I know go with Nokia. You can walk into the equivalent of a BestBuy throw down 15€, then stop at a cellphone shop on the way home and buy a SIM/uSIM for 10€. For less than 25€ and a half hour, you're in business. That's how Nokia ships so many units.

Also, I've noticed that because the percentage of prepaid users is much greater over here, people use their phones much less (less public cell phone usage is very nice). Also, I usually just send a "missed call" to someone instead of paying for the SMS, when I want them to know I'm on the way or I'm ready to meet.

 

[Nicksd84]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

Because you have a small sample size.

 

[NinjaHERO]

Apple keeps climbing the charts. I wonder what a boost they would get if they offered the iphone on all carriers.

 

[Pared]

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

Overseas.

Nokia is TERRIBLE here.

Think of how many people have BB's here... it's like that for Nokia over there.

What amazes me is Apple has done this with, ideally, one model of a phone. Similar to how they sell their laptops with minimal differences. It's incredible, really. Imagine a car-maker trying to succeed with around 4 similar models of the same basic car.

 

[Lochias]

Collision course

Nice. But will probably be a while before they pass LG.

One year, at the present rate (+90% and -10%).

 

[Carniphage]

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

The vast majority of Nokia phones are technically smartphones. Because they include a web browser and can theoretically run applications.

But they are sold without a data-plan. And most of them never send an email.

Having these devices grouped in the same category as Blackberries, iPhones and Android devices is stupid.

C.

 

[hamlin]

Globally.

Nokia is huge in Europe (especially in Northern Europe.)

I've noticed that the percentage of Americans who go with a prepaid SIM/uSIM is really small compared to Europe. Most of the prepaid people I know go with Nokia. You can walk into the equivalent of a BestBuy throw down 15€, then stop at a cellphone shop on the way home and buy a SIM/uSIM for 10€. For less than 25€ and a half hour, you're in business. That's how Nokia ships so many units.

Also, I've noticed that because the percentage of prepaid users is much greater over here, people use their phones much less (less public cell phone usage is very nice). Also, I usually just send a "missed call" to someone instead of paying for the SMS, when I want them to know I'm on the way or I'm ready to meet.

Yea I don't think I know anyone that has a prepaid cell phone. Plans are pretty expensive here in Canada 50-60 a month with 500mb-1g data, but affordable. It seems that if you don't have a blackberry or an iPhone(we have crappy android phones in canada) here you are looked at differently. I'm sure its probably the same in the US.

 

[Stella]

Because people with Nokia phones just want a phone, nothing complicated.

So yeah, you see more people with smartphones cause they are more likely to have their phone out for everyone to see.

I buy Nokia due to Symbian. Symbian gets what I want done - iPhone does not, due to its artificial limitations imposed by Apple.


@Carniphage -> I can send email just fine.

Nokia are targeting emerging economies, which is great. There's a lot of potential consumers out there.. untapped.

 

[Ubuntu]

Overseas.

Nokia is TERRIBLE here.

Think of how many people have BB's here... it's like that for Nokia over there.

What amazes me is Apple has done this with, ideally, one model of a phone. Similar to how they sell their laptops with minimal differences. It's incredible, really. Imagine a car-maker trying to succeed with around 4 similar models of the same basic car.

It really is incredible, especially when other manufacturers (Samsung comes to mind especially) make many (and I mean, MANY) phones around the same spec month after month trying to compete with the iPhone - just shows how well-made it is.

 

[ikir]

Overseas.

Nokia is TERRIBLE here.

Think of how many people have BB's here... it's like that for Nokia over there.

What amazes me is Apple has done this with, ideally, one model of a phone. Similar to how they sell their laptops with minimal differences. It's incredible, really. Imagine a car-maker trying to succeed with around 4 similar models of the same basic car.

Intelligent post. I agree.

I buy Nokia due to Symbian. Symbian gets what I want done - iPhone does not, due to its artificial limitations imposed by Apple.


@Carniphage -> I can send email just fine.

Is it a joke? iPhone limitation? Are you joking? What can you do with a crap Nokia you can't do in iPhone or Android?
Artificial limitation? iPhone has very few limitation only due Apple want consumer experience to max and i agree with them. I do most of my work on my iPhone, it changed completely my work. Before with a crappy phone like a Nokia it was impossible.

 

[Jeremy1026]

Imagine a car-maker trying to succeed with around 4 similar models of the same basic car.

Simple. MINI. They started in 2002 with the Cooper, and Cooper D. Then Expanded in 03 to add the Cooper S and the Cooper One. Then in 05 the Convertible, followed by the Clubman in 06.

Really they have 3 variants on the market right now (with a 4th coming off the line now), with different trim levels. Just like how Apple has 3 laptops on the market, with different trim levels.

 

[krischik]

There is a world outside the USA.

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

You are aware that the USA make up only 5% of the worlds population, aren't you?

And I hope that you are aware that the other 95% don't all live in mud holes and do buy mobile phones as well.

So if you want to see people with NOKIAs I suggest you have a holiday abroad.

 

[Stella]

You are aware that the USA make up only 5% of the worlds population, aren't you?

And I hope that you are aware that the other 95% don't all live in mud holes and do buy mobile phones as well.

So if you want to see people with NOKIAs I suggest you have a holiday abroad.

Except, hamlin is in Canada.. which isn't the USA

 

[gnasher729]

How is Nokia at the top. Honestly I don't think i've ever seen someone that doesn't have a blackberry/iPhone.

As an example, there is a mobile phone in the glove compartment of my car. It's not even turned on. I don't even know what make it is. It's almost never used, but a few months my car broke down, and I used it to get help and call work that I would be a bit late (as you can see, I'm more a MacBook / Mac Pro person and not an iPhone / iPad person). One day that phone will break down, and I will replace it with a Nokia for £10. That's the cheapest pay-as-you-go phone you can buy in Britain, but it serves its purpose - stay in the glove compartment for an emergency. Of course they need to sell about 30 or 40 of those to get the same revenue that Apple gets from one iPhone.

That's one phone that possibly _nobody_ has ever seen. And it might be Nokia. There are millions and millions of invisible phones. And you don't see them advertised, they hide them. Obviously the phone shop much prefers to sell a Blackberry or iPhone.

PS. The original article is annoyingly bad with details. For example, some of Nokia's phones are smart phones. They don't say how many. Their smart phone sales grew by 61%, but the average price dropped from €190 to €136. But how does this compare to Apple? Nobody knows. They might have sold two million smart phones, or twenty, or eighty. We don't know. This is just annoyingly useless information in an article like that.

 

[hamlin]

You are aware that the USA make up only 5% of the worlds population, aren't you?

And I hope that you are aware that the other 95% don't all live in mud holes and do buy mobile phones as well.

So if you want to see people with NOKIAs I suggest you have a holiday abroad.

You are aware that the US may represent 5% of the worlds population but also represents the largest cellphone market in the world right?

 

[levitynyc]

Serious question...who owns a Nokia? I havent seen anyone carrying a Nokia around in years. Are they ultra popular in Europe?

 

[Stella]

Intelligent post. I agree.



Is it a joke? iPhone limitation? Are you joking? What can you do with a crap Nokia you can't do in iPhone or Android?
Artificial limitation? iPhone has very few limitation only due Apple want consumer experience to max and i agree with them. I do most of my work on my iPhone, it changed completely my work. Before with a crappy phone like a Nokia it was impossible.

Why should this be a joke - its my personal preference.

I didn't mention Android, I mentioned 'iPhone', so I'm not going to reference Android ( and I'm not interested in Android anyway ).

Firstly, iPhone SDK keeps you at arms length which limits the potential software, I'll give you two examples: You cannot utilize Bluetooth fully - for example, Bluetooth data transfer - i.e., files and syncing ( iSync ). Wireless syncing is far more convenient than wired. If I want to transfer a large file, I'll use wired.

I have utilities on my Nokia that due to the SDK, cannot be reproduced on the iPhone. I use these a lot - for example, scheduling of profiles.

Nokia also comes with OVI Maps.. which is great - as a replacement SatNav - voice guided too.. free including map updates. Maps are stored on the phone... cell phone coverage isn't 100%, a consideration if your app is pulling maps remotely.

Also, I tether my computer quite a lot - so I get the option of using WIFI ( or for long periods, a USB cable which uses less power ), also tether iPod quite a lot too.

Bluephone Elite is / was a great application for OSX - which works great for Symbian.. Due to iPhone limitations ( artifical ), BE cannot provide all functionality.

I don't like the Apple walled garden - if you do , great but I don't. Personal preference.

I also multitask a lot - which is unrestricted multi-tasking ( unlike iPhone's limited version ) which doesn't degrade the battery life very much at all ( application dependant of course - if your running an app that uses GPS in the background the battery life will degrade faster )

Anyway, this is just some of the reasons, not all why my chosen smartphone platform is Symbian rather than iPhone.

QuickOffice was free - so I can edit documents on the go, which I do occasionally ( also available for iPhone ).

People dismiss Symbian but its due to lack of understanding - it is very efficient - including its power management and a very mature smartphone OS. An unfortunate side of Symbian it has been - up until recently - a bitch to develop for. However, its getting far easier due to QT and better development tools.