Worldwide sales of smart phones totalled 32.2 million units in the first quarter of 2008, up 29.3pc on the first quarter of 2007, Gartner has announced.
Worldwide sales of smart phones totalled 32.2 million units in the first quarter of 2008, up 29.3pc on the first quarter of 2007, Gartner has announced.
Smart phone sales in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) totaled 11.7 million units in the first quarter of 2008, a 38.7pc jump from a year ago.
In North America, smart phone sales reached 7.3 million units in Q108, a 106.2pc gain from the same period last year.
Nokia commanded over 45pc of the global smart phone market during the quarter, with sales up 25pc year-over-year.
Research in Motion (RIM) held onto second place globally during the quarter and grew its share to 13.4pc. The BlackBerry Curve and Pearl devices drove RIM’s sales. In the US, the company occupies the top ranking with a 42pc market share.
Apple moved into the third spot in the global smart phone market with a 5.3pc share, selling 1.72 million units during the quarter. The company holds the No 2 position in the US with market share reaching 20pc.
“Smart phone growth was driven by replacement markets such as Europe and smart phone sales also benefited from continued growth in the US market, which increased its regional share to almost equal sales in western Europe,” said Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner.
“The beginning of the year was marked by announcements regarding touch screens, smart phone usability and application integration. These key trends had already emerged in the second half of 2007 and during 2008 we can expect them to mature further and become the focus for more handset vendors and carriers as they expand their current portfolios to include more open-platform devices.”
“Despite economic concerns, the smart phone market continued to expand in the US, driven by heavy advertising and strong marketing promotions as more devices reached mass market price points,” said Hugues De La Vergne, principal analyst for mobile terminals research, Gartner. “North American operators are giving these devices strong support as they provide higher average revenue per unit (ARPU). We expect operators to continue to make these devices the focus of 2008 promotions.”
By Niall Byrne
