Mobile Phones Defy Economic Gravity
Yes, the U.S. economy has been in the dumps lately, but that seems to have absolutely nothing to dampen the mobile phone market. According to Strategy Analytics, mobile phone shipments in the U.S. grew in the second quarter of 2008, and grew 5.3% over the past year.
About 41.9 million phones were shipped in the U.S. in the second quarter of this year, which compares favorably compared to the 39.8 million mobile phones shipped in the second quarter of 2007.
Canadian phone maker Research in Motion (RIM) has broken into double-digit territory with its BlackBerry phones, more than doubling its market share in the past year from 4.8% in the second quarter of 2007 to 10.6% in the same quarter of 2008.
According to Bonny Joy, an analyst with Strategy Analytics, one out of every 10 phones sold in the U.S. during the second quarter was a BlackBerry, which is quite “remarkable in this a very competitive market.”
Andy Sullivan, vice president of client services for Crisp Wireless, notes that BlackBerry has a strong hold on the leadership position for the mobile Web. He notes that “while it does not have the market share in handset distribution, it is by far the leading brand in the mobile web.”
RIM should have strong momentum entering the last two quarters of 2008, with its BlackBerry Bold and Thunder models expected to roll out into consumers’ hands in the very near future.
Motorola is still the (flagging) market leader in the U.S., with a share of 25.8%, a large fall from its 36.6% market share during the same quarter last year.
LG was second with a 21% market share in the second quarter, followed by Samsung with an 18.6% market share. RIM was fourth, followed by Nokia with a 9.5% share of the market.
The Samsung Instinct and the Palm Centro were notable devices in the second quarter of 2008.
Ninety percent of mobile phones sold during the second quarter were replacements, reflecting the nearly saturated U.S. market.
The impending unveiling of Google’s Android is sure to mix things up in the market, especially with Apple’s iPhone. On Monday, a video purportedly showing an Android-based HTC Dream device popped up on the Web.
Sources:
http://www.redherring.com/Home/24632
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/08/11/new-clip-claims-to-show-android-phone
