Worldwide Smartphone Sales Growth Slowing
Gartner has just published their latest quarterly report on the worldwide smartphone market. The company says in the third quarter of 2008, the global smartphone market reported its weakest year-on-year growth since they began tracking the industry. Worldwide smartphone sales to end-users totalled 36.5 million units in Q3 2008, an 11.5% increase from the same period in 2007. In addition, Apple overtook Microsoft to become the number 3 smartphone OS vendor with the iPhone surpassing sales of Windows Mobile devices.
"The current economic climate is negatively impacting sales of higher end devices," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner. "Going forward, we should expect the smartphone device market to continue to grow but at a slower pace. Although leading mobile operators are subsidising more smartphones, to reach lower prices they tie the device to two year contracts with monthly data plan rates which remain too expensive for the mainstream user."
Nokia maintained its No. 1 position with 42.4 per cent market share in the third quarter of 2008, but for the first time it recorded a decline in sales of 3 per cent year-on-year (see Table 1). "Nokia is feeling the pressure from increased competition in the consumer smartphone market," said Ms Cozza. "The company introduced solid Nseries products with top features, but its lack of a commercial touch-screen device in its smartphone portfolio prevented Nokia from capitalising from consumer demand for this feature. The recently announced N97 is a much needed evolution for the n9x series of products. It is unfortunate that the device will not be available before the first half of 2009 as this is a competitive product in today's market."
Table 1 - Worldwide: Preliminary Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor, 3Q08 (Thousands of Units)
|
Company |
3Q08 Sales |
3Q08 Market Share (%) |
3Q07 Sales |
3Q07 Market Share (%) |
3Q08- 3Q07 Growth (%) |
|
Nokia |
15,472 |
42.4 |
15,964 |
48.7 |
-3.1 |
|
Research In Motion |
5,800 |
15.9 |
3,192 |
9.7 |
81.7 |
|
Apple |
4,720 |
12.9 |
1,104 |
3.4 |
327.5 |
|
HTC |
1,656 |
4.5 |
1,315 |
4.0 |
25.9 |
|
Sharp |
1,239 |
3.4 |
1,535 |
4.7 |
-19.3 |
|
Others |
7,626 |
20.9 |
9,643 |
29.4 |
-20.9 |
|
Total |
36,515 |
100.0 |
32,753 |
100.0 |
11.5 |
Note: Under the name HTC, Gartner counts only the company's own-branded devices. The devices that HTC designs for mobile operators are shown separately under the operators' names in these statistics.
Sales of Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphones increased 81.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. RIM continued to expand its presence within the consumer segment and refreshed its portfolio with new models and form factors. RIM sales will receive a boost from its new products in the fourth quarter. Analysts said the Storm is RIM's most important product launch to date and has the potential to be a major product for the company.
Apple regained its No. 3 position in the global smartphone market and improved its market share to 12.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. Apple's shipments into the channel during the third quarter of 2008 approached 7 million units. However, Apple built up around 2 million units of inventory and Gartner's sales unit estimate reflects this. Apple's sales increased more than four times compared to the same period in 2007 as a result of wider geographical availability, new business model and lower pricing.
For the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Symbian commanded 49.8 per cent of the global sales to end users in the third quarter of 2008 (see Table 2) and for the first time its share went below the 50 per cent mark. Nokia's decline in smartphone sales during the quarter, and continued weakness of the Japanese mobile device market, have impacted Symbian's share. Gartner expects Symbian share to continue to erode next year but maintain its leading position in the market.
Table 2 - Worldwide: Preliminary Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System, 3Q08 (Thousands of Units)
|
Company |
3Q08 Sales |
3Q08 Market Share (%) |
3Q07 Sales |
3Q07 Market Share (%) |
3Q08- 3Q07 Growth (%) |
|
Symbian |
18,179 |
49.8 |
20,664 |
63.1 |
-12.0 |
|
Research In Motion |
5,800 |
15.9 |
3,192 |
9.7 |
81.7 |
|
Mac OS X |
4,720 |
12.9 |
1,104 |
3.4 |
327.5 |
|
Microsoft Windows Mobile |
4,053 |
11.1 |
4,180 |
12.8 |
-3.0 |
|
Linux |
2,622 |
7.2 |
2,884 |
8.8 |
-9.1 |
|
Palm OS |
780 |
2.1 |
383 |
1.2 |
103.3 |
|
Others |
361 |
1.0 |
345 |
1.1 |
4.6 |
|
Total |
36,515 |
100.0 |
32,753 |
100.0 |
11.5 |
Note: The "Others" category includes sales of Sharp Sidekick devices based on the Danger platform.
Source: Gartner (December 2008)
The success of iPhone 3G sales in the third quarter of 2008 propelled the Mac OS X to the No. 3 position in the global OS provider rankings. For the first time, iPhone sales exceeded sales of Microsoft Windows Mobile devices worldwide and in North America. In the shorter term, open-source initiatives like Android and Symbian Foundation will challenge Windows Mobile's licensing model. In addition, the lack of a competitive user interface will continue to limit Microsoft's mobile device usability when facing competitive consumer smartphones.
"In 2009, application portfolios will become one of the key strategic considerations for smartphone market players and, if successful, they deliver an alternative revenue stream and will improve consumer stickiness," Ms Cozza said.
On a regional level, North America was the fastest growing market, with a 68 per cent increase in the third quarter of 2008. RIM and Apple did particularly well in the region with both vendors accounting for more than 70 per cent of the smartphone market in the third quarter of 2008. Apple regained second position behind RIM with 25.4 per cent market share. Smartphone sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) increased 14 per cent year-on-year. The region saw Nokia's share decline nearly 8 percentage points in the third quarter of 2008 but still maintaining its leading position and saw Apple gain the No. 2 spot with 15.6 per cent share, moving in front of HTC and RIM.
The markets in Asia/Pacific and Japan declined 11 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively in the third quarter of 2008. In Latin America, despite the decline in sales for all handsets, the smartphone market grew 56 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. The sales were bolstered by the official introduction of Apple's iPhone 3G across a dozen of countries.
Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Market Share: Smartphones, Worldwide, 3Q08."
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RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Give RIM some time. I guarantee they'll have released more ROM updates & improvements in 6 months than Palm has released for Garnet in the past three years.
Really, it comes down to choosing between A. An intuitive, easy to use OS with fantasic PIM apps but hampered by unreliability and a dearth of modern features (Garnet 5.4.9) OR
B. A not-so-intutive OS with a solid set of modern features and great e-mail but hampered by poor PIM apps and unreliability (BB OS 4.).
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Windows Mobile, Symbian and RIM are now in the same canoe with Garnet (what strange bedfellows) - they are dinosaurs trying to remain relevant in a world increasingly populated with intelligent life. Nokia and Windows Mobile are bleeding market share - RIM is desperately putting lipg loss on its antiquated pig, while iPhone races ahead and a wave of Android phones are due to hit the market next year.
Palm isn't the only company in trouble.
----
Web Designer,
Tech writer for weblogs inc. @ http://www.tuaw.com
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
well, my centro ain't fancy or pretty but it just "works". the phone and unlimited voice/data/text plan is cheap and effective. and i don't have to deal with the apple stigmata.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
No, just the bullies on the playground.
The last known classic PDA user.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
FrankenGarnet gained in OS market share, year over year. The two keys are design for usability first, and then a modern OS.
Centro's "success" is owed primarily to it's low cost - it's cheap and comes in a variety of colors. It competes in the feature phone space more than Smartphone. And from a fiscal stand the phone has become a stray torpedo, threatening to sink the company that launched it. The low margins Palm is getting on these handsets combined with an apathetic market for its premium devices (which are frankly duds running an OS that no one wants - WM) is driving the company ever further towards the abyss.
Ironically Palm, where Centro is concerned, is in precisely the same predicament Handspring was in with its Visor PDA. Worse still, Palm is repeating the same failed strategy that killed that company. Visor, like Centro, was fun, colorful, wildly popular, and bleeding them dry. Handspring burned through cash faster than Sarah Palin in Bloomindales just trying to remain afloat. When they couldn't make money selling cheap organizers, they bet the company's growth on higher margin premium devices that never took off (Visor Prism and Edge).
Palm has taken that page from Handspring's playbook with Treo Pro, which will result in epic fail.
At this point I see no hope for Palm. They're running out of time and money.
----
Web Designer,
Tech writer for weblogs inc. @ http://www.tuaw.com
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Cannibalization of the Treo
Gekko @ 9/28/2007 5:42:51 PM #
I think this Centro could potentially cannibalize the Treo.
I'd buy it over any Treo. It's as good as any Treo in terms of specs, it's smaller/lighter, and it's A LOT cheaper.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
$99 Centro = Low Margins/Low ASP/Commodity Hell
Gekko @ 10/29/2007 9:58:03 PM #
"You are headed for commodity hell if you don't have services." - Lou Gerstner
"Chasing revenue in a commodity business is really dumb." - Lou Gerstner
http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9517/signs-of-a-centro-rally/
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
After months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and even more months, *Foo Fighter* shows up HERE?!
WTF is up with that?!
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
David Beers
Senior Wireless Developer
MapQuest
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
I'm not sure why in particular Foo says the Treo Pro will fail. It's certainly possible, but I do insist on giving the Pro its due: by all accounts it's the best Treo Palm's ever produced. Its big failing is not being carried on AT&T. I'd guess that's what Foo means. But if they could get it on there, and on Sprint/Verizon, then they'd be talking turkey.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
ah...i miss the good old days...
---
cervezas @ 8/27/2005 1:00:18 PM #
So you think Palm plans to just keep patching Garnet through 2009? Honestly, some of you guys are so afraid not to look cynical in this forum that you end up saying things that are downright stupid.
http://www.palminfocenter.com/comments/8042/
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
On top of that, the constricting Palm-conomy has combined with Palm closing up what little bit of the Palm ecosystem they contributed to (mypalm beta closure, Palm backup closure) + the woes of Palmgear/Pocketgear, no updates from Palm or Access to Palm Desktop, crummy developer tools, no support for developers or Palm for Palm OS-based handhelds or Treos (Google Maps, anyone?), no new killer Palm OS apps in at least a year etc etc etc) and you really get the picture that Palm's just trying to treat water as long as possible by churning out new Centro colors and endless spins on the same basic WinMob handset design that, as Foo said, nobody wants.
Heck, I see precious few WinMob handsets of ANY type nowadays, and that includes the latest Samsung & HTC hotness. M$ and their partners needed WinMob like yesterday. RIM is experiencing growing pains but is still overall in better shape than Palm, Nokia or Microosft in the smartphone game.
I see the industry basically shaking out to have RIM & Apple at the top, WinMob & Android remaining squarely 2nd tier, and everyone else (Palm & Nokia??) fighting over the slivers of the remaining marketshare.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
come on. why even bother? how many more will they sell? an incremental upgrade would be like pissing into the ocean - it won't make a damn bit of difference. you guys with that damn 3.5mm jack request really crack me up. small tweaks won't move the market share needle.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Or is the Centro really the Treo Jr?
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Apple to Sell IPhones in Wal-Mart Stores This Month (Update1)
By Connie Guglielmo
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will become the second mass-market retail chain to start selling Apple Inc.'s iPhone, with two store representatives saying the world's largest retailer will carry two models of the Web-surfing handset this month.
Employees in the cell-phone departments at five California stores, contacted by phone today, said Wal-Mart will offer iPhones by the end of December. Employees are currently being trained on how to sell the device, all five said.
Analysts say Apple may offer a discontinued 4-gigabyte version through Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart and sell it for $99. Apple currently sells two models at $199 and $299.
"A $99, Apple-branded cell phone is inevitable," said Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Brothers in San Francisco. "One of the key things Apple needs to do to drive broader iPhone adoption is to build a more complete product line" with low- end, mid-range and high-end products, Wu said in a Dec. 5 note.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a4YIU21gLaSY#
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Interesting news from Bloomberg though. I wonder if they mean "discontinued" 4GB as in the old EDGE version or the newer 3G version? I'd really think that this is gonna be a reduced-cost 3G iPhone. Didn't someone dig up some documentation proving that the materials cost of the 3G iPhone is the same or less than the first-gen model?
But is 4gigs of flash the only cost-cutting measure for the Wal-Mart version? Will they omit the wi-fi? The camera? Go with a cheaper/smaller screen/casing? This is a good move from Apple/AT&T/Wal-Mart's part, sure but not quite the same as the iPhone 3G debuting at $199 or even BestBuy stocking the iPhone.
The average Wal-mart shopper is likely looking for the best "free" dumbphone they can possibly get and/or a pre-paid job; the mandatory data plans attached to the iPhone will probably result in many of them being fondled but ultimately ignored at Wal-Mart. Still, it also might do wonders for WM's iPod Touch sales, especially if there's a Touch price cut in the works for early '09: "Look mommy, this one looks the same and don't require a monthly charge!"
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
I recently bought device with a rebate, etc etc etc. Submitted the paperwork and got approved for the rebate in very short order.
And then the email was received saying "Rebate approved, check mailed in 8 to 10 weeks".
8 to 10 weeks to cut a check?
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Excising the camera would actually be a plus, as many security-conscious companies disallow phones with cameras. Apple is late on the ball with this.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
[no title]
The fact that crappy old frankengarnet manages to remain in demand against the tons of money tossed at "smart" phones designed by Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, and Google ought to give people pause. It just works well and quick for this size platform, 12 years of programs are already created, it's easy and accessible to nearly anyone. The PalmOS is ancient and nowhere near as "advanced" as the other stuff, but it has a hell of a continuing purchaser base for something all the competitors call "obsolete." I'd rather have one of those dumb Centros than have to live with WinceMob's bloaty clutter everyday. C'mon, Palm - get your act together and start building on your strength - the OS and the Treo formfactor!
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE:
I had to find the article using the main page "full comments view", then had to click on the article and FIND your comment in order to read it and reply.
Well done!
Whatta game!
==========
However...
"Frankengarnet" is not in demand - sure, it might be Palm's top-selling OS but that is more credit to the el-cheapo Centro than demand for an OS - the users of Centros probably, in general, have zero clue about PalmOS and, in general I would bet, never even use half the built-in features of the Centro much less add applications.
The Best Smart Phone for Every Personality Type
The Best Smart Phone for Every Personality Type
Whether you're shopping for a road warrior or a technophobe this holiday season, there's a smart phone option that is sure to please. Here's a review of the possibilities...
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106260/Smart-Phones,-Smart-Choices
RE: Trouble in the (99-cent) App Store
Sweet!
Guess I'm living on the wrong coast.
RE: Trouble in the (99-cent) App Store
- http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20081210/tc_nm/us_openhandset_2
and the cost of developers as noted above, what does this say about the number of developers that are going to jump on the Nova Linux bandwagon?
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and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
"My Storm was like something from a Stephen King novel: possessed of its own mind. Touching or selecting on the screen highlighted something totally unrelated. The lag in switching from horizontal to vertical almost made it seem that the screen was deciding its own when to shift."
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/readers-react-to-david-pogues-review-of-the-blackberry-storm/?ref=personaltech