IT analyst firm Canalys published its final worldwide country-level
Q2 2011 smart phone market estimates, showing substantial market growth
in all regions. Globally, the market grew 73 percent year-on-year, with
in excess of 107.7 million units shipping in the second quarter of
2011. Of the 56 countries Canalys tracks around the world, Android led
in 35 of them and achieved a global market share of 48 percent. Asia
Pacific (APAC) remained the largest regional market, with 39.8 million
units shipping there, compared with 35.0 million in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa (EMEA), and 32.9 million in the Americas.
Android, the No. 1 platform by shipments since Q4 2010, was also the
strongest growth driver this quarter, with Android-based smart phone
shipments up 379 percent over a year ago to 51.9 million units. Growth
was bolstered by strong Android product performances from a number of
vendors, including Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and
Huawei. The final country-level data showed there were particularly
strong performances from Android devices in APAC countries, such as
South Korea, where Android holds an 85 percent platform share, and
Taiwan, where it has 71 percent.
With shipments of 20.3 million iPhones and a market share of 19
percent, iOS overtook Nokia’s Symbian platform during the quarter to
take second place worldwide. In doing so, Apple also became the world’s
leading individual smart phone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held
leadership position. Samsung also moved ahead of Nokia, with its
flagship Galaxy S II product performing well, but its overall
performance was underwhelming, considering the opportunities offered by
the upheaval at Nokia, the report noted.
“Samsung has failed to fully capitalize on Nokia’s weakened state
around the world, as the Finnish company rides out a challenging
transitional period,’ said Canalys vice president and principal analyst
Chris Jones. “It’s the best placed vendor to grow at Nokia’s expense,
taking advantage of its global scale and channel reach, but it hasn’t
yet done enough to capitalize on this, particularly in emerging
markets.”
Microsoft is also eager to see Nokia’s first Windows Phone products,
along with those from its other OEM partners, ship with its Mango
update. “A fresh crop of products is certainly needed,” said Jones.
Fewer than 1.5 million Microsoft-based smart phones shipped during the
quarter, equating to a mere one percent share of the global market,
down 52 percent against shipments a year ago.
Windows Phone OEM partner HTC saw Android driving the vast majority
of its portfolio, but Canalys expects it to continue to be a leading
provider of Windows Phone products. HTC achieved particular success in
North America this quarter, climbing to a 21 percent share and
consolidating its second place position, while Apple’s North American
share dropped from 31 percent last quarter to 25 percent this quarter.
Computer Networking 
