Mobile Phone Market Soars, Despite Feature Phone Decline

Second quarter findings show the global mobile phone market grew 11.3 percent since last year, though the feature phone market declined for the first time since 3Q09, according to IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. 

The same report showed that vendors shipped 365.4 million handsets of all types in the April-June period of this year, a 37 million unit year-over-year increase. Sales of smartphone are on the rise, pushing up the total figure.

The 4% shrinkage of the feature phone market since a year over was most prominent in regions such as the United States, Japan and Western Europe, as users swiftly switch to smartphones. As a result of the consumer demand for smartphones, Apple and Samsung topped the global market for those handsets. 

Apple Is King of the Smartphone Hill
Apple shipped more than 20 million iPhones worldwide, controlling a market share of 18.5% in the second quarter, with Samsung not far behind, taking 17.5% of the market share after shipping 19.2 smartphones. With such fierce competition, Nokia lost more than half of its market share from a year ago, resulting in just a 15.2% share for the company. 

Despite this loss, Nokia still holds the top position in the global mobile market overall with 24.2% of the market, where smartphones and feature phones are both counted. However, Samsung is closing in with double-digit growth pushing it to 19.2% share.