The mobile phone market grew by 6.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the latest report from the International Data Corporation. IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker revealed that 427.4 million mobile devices were shipped in Q4 2011, with the feature phone market declining faster than anticipated.
Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, said “The mobile phone market exhibited unusually low growth last quarter, which shows it is not immune to weaker macroeconomic conditions worldwide. The introduction of high-growth products such as the iPhone 4S, which shipped in the fourth quarter, bolstered smartphone growth. Yet overall market growth fell to its lowest point since 3Q09 when the global economic recession was in full bloom.”
IDC says Nokia finished the year as the undisputed leader of total mobile phone shipments, followed by Samsung - which narrowed the gap from last year - and then Apple, which jumped to third place.
The worldwide mobile phone grew by 11.1% in 2011, down from the 18.7% increase it saw in 2010.
Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share in 2011
| Vendor |
2011 shipments (million) |
2011 market share |
2010 shipments (million) |
2010 market share |
Year-on-year change |
| Nokia |
417.1 |
27.0% |
453.0 |
32.6% |
-7.9% |
| Samsung |
329.4 |
21.3% |
280.2 |
20.1% |
17.6% |
| Apple |
93.2 |
6.0% |
47.5 |
3.4% |
96.2% |
| LG |
88.1 |
5.7% |
116.7 |
8.4% |
-24.5% |
| ZTE |
66.1 |
4.3% |
50.5 |
3.6% |
30.9% |
| Others |
552.1 |
35.7% |
443.6 |
31.9% |
24.5% |
| Total |
1546.0 |
100% |
1391.5 |
100% |
11.1% |