The worldwide mobile phone market grew 21.7% in the first quarter of 2010… and it welcomed a new face into the 'top 5' manufacturer list. Those are the headlines from a new report by the International Data Corporation. However, IDC says the growth rate is expected to slow, resulting in an average 11% for the year.
Vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 242.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009.
Growing demand for smartphones - up almost 50% year-on-year, according to a Strategy Analytics report today - helped BlackBerry maker Research In Motion move into the top 5 rankings for the first time, shipping over 2 million more devices than Motorola's total of 8.5 million units.
Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst at IDC, said "The entrance of RIM into the top 5 underscores the sustained smartphone growth trend that is driving the global mobile phone market recovery. This is also the first time a vendor has dropped out of the top 5 since the second quarter of 2005, when Sony Ericsson grabbed the number 5 spot from BenQ Siemens."
1. Nokia: 107.8 million devices in Q1 2010 (36.6% market share)
2. Samsung: 64.3 million devices (21.8% share)
3. LG Electronics: 27.1 million devices (9.2% share)
4. Research In Motion: 10.6 million devices (3.6% share)
4. Sony Ericsson: 10.5 million devices (3.6% share)
When it comes to smartphones, Strategy Analytics says Nokia still leads this segment. It gives Nokia 40% of the global smartphone market - 54 million devices in Q1 2010 - followed by RIM with 19.7% and Apple with 16.4%.