Worldwide Sales of Mobile Phones Declined 2.3 Percent in Second Quarter of 2012: Gartner

Worldwide sales of mobile phones have declined by 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012 from the second quarter of 2011 according to a report by Gartner. The sales of mobile phones (globally) hit the 419 million mark of these 36.7 percent accounted for smartphones sales. While the overall figure of mobile phones declined by 2.3 percent, smartphone sales increased by 42.7 percent in the second quarter of 2012.
It was noted that the year on year decline in the mobile phone market was due the economic downturn, however the smartphone market grew because of high profile launches like the Samsung Galaxy S III and the adoption of 3G networks globally. The smartphone market is further expected to growth with the imminent launch of the iPhone 5, that will feature a redesign.
The Samsung Galaxy S III did really well as 10 million units were shipped beating Samsung’s own expectations. Nokia on the other hand continued its dip and its mobile phone sales dropped by 14.8 percent, with the Lumia handsets failing to make a dent in the Android and iPhone dominated smartphone market. On the bright side though, Nokia managed to increase its market share in the feature phone market.
Interestingly, demand for the iPhone dropped by 12.6 percent when compared with Q1, however Apple managed a 47.4 percent year on year growth.
On the whole, the status quo was maintained with Samsung further cementing its position as the number one manufacturer of mobile phones in the world, followed by Nokia and Apple respectively. The same held true for smartphone platforms with Android holding a dominant number one position, followed by iOS and then Symbian which is fast losing market share. Windows Phone showed a minimal growth of 1.1 percent from Q2 of 2011.