Apple Closing on LG for Title of Third Largest Mobile Phone Vendor With 142% Growth

[Pimp Lucious]

whats funny is apple is doing this with one phone, the iphone.

samsung, etc all have a variety of phones out there.

So is this the new talking point Apple sent out to it's minions and talking heads, or do you all just parrot one another, because I keep reading this exact same statement when marketshare is discussed.

 

[benpatient]

I bought two LG phones just yesterday (via Sprint/Kroger). One Android smartphone (Optimus S) and one dumb phone (LG101).

Paid 200 bucks for both phones and two months of prepaid service. No contract, bill will be under 35 dollars a month at the most.

Having used an iPhone 4 in the past, I find the Optimus to be nearly its equal in every way. It is just as responsive. The screen resolution doesn't compare, that's true, but it is hard to understate how nice it is to have haptic feedback on the touch screen, and how nice it is to have a row of real buttons along the bottom.

Not to mention having a $25 a month plan that includes free txt and 200mb of data with no contract.

Wake me up when ATT or Verizon can offer something like this.

 

[Lesser Evets]

Steve Ballmer must be punching his fat head by now.

 

[kdarling]

Who's ZTE?

ZTE is the second largest Chinese handset maker, after Huawei.

Right now, their most popular smartphone seems to be the Blade (aka San Francisco in the UK), with LCD or AMOLED VGA screen and 600Mhz cpu. Reviews are very good.

The Blade is selling very well in Europe and in China, due to its nice specs for a very low price. It just passed over the iPhone in sales in the UK a few weeks ago. In China, it's also helping to siphon off iPhone sales as Android phones continue their climb past Apple.

ZTE is out to make a global name for themselves, much as HTC did. They claim that their sales this year will jump to 80 million, up from 10 million last year. (Might be optimistic by about 15 million.)

 

[fertilized-egg]

In China, it's also helping to siphon off iPhone sales as Android phones continue their climb past Apple.

Err I'm sure it's helping a lot more to siphon off featurephones and other Android phones first. In fact iPhone is probably the least affected touch smartphone by the ZTE Blade/San Francisco.

This is an assumption I see frequently yet never understood. Android phones are, first and foremost, compete against themselves, not the iPhone. Money made by Samsung Android phones doesn't magically get passed down to LG. Any Samsung or Motorola Android phone likely share the customer with other Android makers such as LG and Sony-Ericsson more so than they do with Apple.

It's even more true when we're talking about low cost phone often sold for prepaid customers like the ZTE. It's more likely a customers buys the ZTE phone instead of splurging for some midrange LG or Motorla device, not the iPhone.

 

[divinox]

ZTE is the second largest Chinese handset maker, after Huawei.

Right now, their most popular smartphone seems to be the Blade (aka San Francisco in the UK), with LCD or AMOLED VGA screen and 600Mhz cpu. Reviews are very good.

The Blade is selling very well in Europe and in China, due to its nice specs for a very low price. It just passed over the iPhone in sales in the UK a few weeks ago. In China, it's also helping to siphon off iPhone sales as Android phones continue their climb past Apple.

ZTE is out to make a global name for themselves, much as HTC did. They claim that their sales this year will jump to 80 million, up from 10 million last year. (Might be optimistic by about 15 million.)

ZTE seems solid in the lower segments. The Blade for instance seems like a really nice device, and for the buck you pay - damn. Wouldnt come as a surprise if theyre backed heavily by the state (of course they are, its China, but you get the point i guess...).

Assuming Wp7 takes off they're very likely to dominate the lower segment of that platform too. Other than other actors trying to get rid of old parts i really don't see anyone competing, at least not profitably.

 

[kdarling]

Assuming Wp7 takes off (ZTE is) very likely to dominate the lower segment of that platform too.

Thanks, that's a good point. Could affect Nokia.

Err I'm sure it's helping a lot more to siphon off featurephones and other Android phones first. In fact iPhone is probably the least affected touch smartphone by the ZTE Blade/San Francisco.

That seems like a fair claim, at least for the iPhone 4. Not so much against the inexpensive 3GS. Remember, Apple has two models in play.

This is an assumption I see frequently yet never understood. Android phones are, first and foremost, compete against themselves, not the iPhone.

Only if a person has already chosen Android, and after that the small selection of phones in each price level per carrier often brings the decision down to just one or two.

Otherwise, if they haven't chosen the OS, it depends on what the buyer wants and/or can afford.

If they're looking for a top of the line phone, then Android and iOS compete directly. For people who don't yet care about the OS because they've never had a smartphone, it could even be competition directly between phone models themselves and not the OS. E.g. I often see newbies looking at screen size, keyboard and other features first.

Another type of buyer cares most about price. In that case, once again there are a set of Android phones competing against the iPhone 3GS... not just against each other.

 

[silentnite]

People are looking for something that works and is secure. Apple just happens to have the best of both worlds. Also android phones rarely have any updates that improve the system. This hurts all around. LG as well as all the rest of the phone makers release way to much product.

 

[fertilized-egg]

That seems like a fair claim, at least for the iPhone 4. Not so much against the inexpensive 3GS. Remember, Apple has two models in play.

Except that the big appeal of the ZTE is that it's available for cheap for prepaid customers which isn't true for iPhone 3GS but true for many Android devices where there are many models available in the $100-300 range.

If the ZTE Blade is "siphoning off" the sales of iPhone, it must be vacuuming customers off from competing Huawei, SE, LG, Motorola, Samsung Android phones in the same price range.

 

[KingCrimson]

The reason Nokia and Samsung is so far ahead is that they have products in all price segments. The only way Apple could catch up in the foreseeable future is if they also begin selling cheap, simple dumbphones. I don't think that's going to happen, Apple is already no. 1 in the smart phone segment and making a huge profit from it, that's what matters to Apple

Apple is already #1 in mobile industry profits, about 60%. In the end that's all that counts.

 

[axual]

Amazing ...

This is quite impressive considering Apple sells a single phone device. Nice job Mr. Jobs.

 

[kdarling]

whats funny is apple is doing this with one phone, the iphone. samsung, etc all have a variety of phones out there.

This is quite impressive considering Apple sells a single phone device. Nice job Mr. Jobs.

Apple has marketed TWO distinct iPhone models for more than a year:

• The high end iPhone 4 with high-res display + front camera.
• The low entry price 3GS with the original low-res display.

And since they all run iOS 5, soon it could be three models, with the 3GS and iP4 set as the low and mid range price points, against the new high end iP5.

.

 

[santaliqueur]

Are you really that dense? Context mean anything to the two of you? Do I really have to spell out:

What's so special about 2nd last on that list?

Since you are unable to understand the list, I'll answer your question simply. 2nd to last on that list means they are ahead of EVERY COMPANY except 3. Any other questions you're pretending not to understand?