FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—The smart-phone market logged record shipments during the first quarter, according to new research from IDC.
Worldwide converged mobile device shipments totaled 18.9 million units during the first quarter, up 7.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005 and up 67.8 percent from the first quarter of last year.
“In most mature markets, the first quarter of the new year is usually characterized by a sequential decrease in shipments. However, as a market with more growth on the way, the converged mobile device market was able to post sequential growth as well as a sizable year-over-year gain,” said Ramon Llamas, research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Markets team. “The worldwide market has broadened in terms of the number of vendors who have entered into this space, and deepened as far as the kinds of devices coming out for consumers, enterprise users and fans of multimedia. The lure of new products combined with heightened competition among the vendors should continue to drive the smart-phone market to new heights.”
The report found Nokia Corp.’s shipments declined 12.2 percent during the quarter after reaching record unit shipments during the fourth quarter. Despite the sequential decline, Nokia’s year-over-year growth totaled 49.9 percent for the quarter. The company controls 43.2 percent of the worldwide market, said IDC.
Japanese vendor Panasonic continues to hold the No. 2 spot with 10-percent market share, and its shipments grew 28.3 percent sequentially during the first quarter, said the report. NEC Corp. ranked third by a margin of 100,000 units.
Waterloo, Ontario-based Research In Motion Ltd. holds 7.7 percent of worldwide smart-phone market share and enjoyed its fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth.
Finally, newcomer Sharp Corp. posted a 174.4-percent sequential increase in unit sales and garnered 5.7 percent worldwide market share.
IDC’s list of top smart-phone vendors differs from lists provided by other research firms. The differences are generally attributable to differing definitions of what comprises a smart phone.
