SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 14 – Worldwide mobile phone sales declined in 2012 for the first time since 2009, Xinhua news agency quoted Market research firm Gartner as saying.
“Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences and intense market competition weakened worldwide mobile phone market this year,” said Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta.
With smartphones continuing to drive overall sales, worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totalled 1.75 billion units in 2012, a 1.7 percent decline from 2011.
Demand for feature phones remained weak last year and was down by 19.3 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter and is expected to continue falling in 2013.
But in the fourth quarter of 2012, smartphone sales rose by 38.3 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Gartner predicted that overall mobile phone sales to end users would reach 1.9 billion units in 2013 with smartphone sales accounting for almost 1 billion units.
Among smartphone vendors, Apple and Samsung together raised their worldwide smartphone market share to 52 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 from 46.4 percent in the third quarter. Samsung claimed the No.1 position in both worldwide smartphone sales and overall mobile phone sales in 2012.
China’s Huawei reached the No.3 spot in global smartphone sales for the first time. Garner said international markets are key for Huawei’s growth in 2013, and the company would be able to improve its product mix to a higher tier. It predicts 2013 would see the battle between the new Blackberry 10 and Windows Phone intensify.
“As carriers and vendors feel the pressure of the strong Android’s growth, alternative operating systems such as Tizen, Firefox, Ubuntu and Jolla will try to position themselves as profitable alternatives,” it said.
BERNAMA
