Smartphone Sales up by 47% in Q3 2012: Gartner Research

Top research and analysis firm, Gartner has published latest data on global mobile handset market. As per the data, smartphone sales have gone up by 47% though total mobile handset sales dipped by 3% in Q3 2012. The research data also confirms Samsung as the clear market leader in both smartphone and in overall mobile handset segments. Samsung has a market share of 22.9% selling around 98 million mobile handsets during the third quarter.

The report says that Samsung and Apple have a commanding market share of close to 47% in smartphone segment. In this segment too Samsung has established a clear leadership with a whopping market share of 32.5%. Galaxy series has contributed to this significant advancement and Apple’s patent infringement suits don’t seem to have an impact on their sales. While explaining the latest numbers in handset business, Principal Research Analyst, Anshul Gupta stated “"After two consecutive quarters of decline in mobile phone sales, demand has improved in both developed and emerging markets as sales increased sequentially”.

China’s increasing demand for smartphones is stated as the main reason behind this upsurge in smartphone sales turnover. However there is lesser demand for feature phones in emerging markets as the cost of smartphones has come down drastically. However, Gartner has also issued a warning that there could be lower demand for smartphones in the festive season as consumers are now more reluctant to spend with economic instability and growing affinity towards cheaper tablets.

Nokia sales though declined over the last year but still managed to exceed Gartner’s estimates to stand at 82 million units, mainly due to the success of Asha series of phones in emerging markets like India. However, they continued to tumble in the smartphone going to an all time low of 7^th position with just 7 million units sold in this Q3. It remains to be seen whether their new Lumia range of phones could help Nokia to improve its standing in smartphone sales this quarter. In terms of mobile OS, Android continues to hold majority share with 19.9% to its credit.