Android has 79% of the smartphone market according to the latest research from Gartner. The firm estimates that in the second quarter of this year, 178 million Android phones were sold to end users, out of a global total of 225 million smartphones. For the first time, sales of smartphones exceeded sales of feature phones worldwide.
Without a new release during the second quarter, the iPhone had just 14.2% of the market. That compares to 18.8% during the year-ago quarter. Apple (AAPL) exceeded analysts’ expectations by selling 31.9 million iPhones during the second calendar quarter (Apple’s Q3), but the company continues to lose ground to Samsung and other Asian manufacturers of Android devices.
Samsung (005930) dominated the second quarter with sales of 71.3 million smartphones. Some analysts have noted that consumer response to Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 has been weaker than expected, but the company continues to be the largest vendor of smartphones by far. LG, Lenovo and ZTE round out the top five for Q2, each selling between 8 and 12 million smartphones.
For the first time, Windows phones outsold BlackBerries during the second quarter. Nokia sold 7.4 million Windows-based Lumia phones, more than the 6.2 million BlackBerries sold by the troubled Canadian company. BlackBerry (BBRY) announced this week that it is considering strategic alternatives, which may include a change in the company’s ownership.
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