Apple takes the lead in Australian handset market

Stuart Corner
Monday, 27 June 2011 19:19

IT Industry - Market

According to IDC, sales of iPhones soared 13 percent in the three months from December 2010, making Apple the lead mobile phone vendor in Australia accounting for almost a third of total sales in Q1 2011.

According to IDC, erstwhile market leader Nokia suffered a double whammy. "The featurephone market collapsed, with 79 percent of new mobiles shipped now being smartphones," said IDC telecommunications analyst, Mark Novosel. "Meanwhile, Symbian took a huge tumble, as consumers shied away from the platform ahead of Nokia's transition to Windows Phone."

The Australian figures, however are well out of whack with global market shares. According to Gartner, in Q1 of 2011 Nokia was the market leader with a 25.1 percent share - 5.5 percentage points down on a year ago and its lowest share since 1997. Samsung was number two with 16.1 percent, LG third with 5.6 percent and Apple in fourth place with 3.9 percent.

In Australia, Novosel said: "Symbian lost 9.5 percent market share quarter on quarter, more than double IDC's forecast decline. We expected Symbian to decline steadily throughout 2011, however the pace of decline has exceeded all expectations, with the majority of would-be Symbian buyers heading to Apple."

In the smartphone market, Apple now holds close to 40 percent market share, up almost 10 percent since December 2010. Android, in second place, holds nearly 30 percent of the market, and Symbian has plunged to third with 22 percent of the smartphone market. "Android remains on track to become the most popular smartphone OS in Australia this year," said Novosel.

IDC says Apple is likely to experience a dip in Q3 as the market eases in preparation for an expected new iPhone model in Q4, meanwhile the wide range of Android flagships that will launch in Q2 and Q3 should see strong growth. "In Q4, Android flagships will see price cuts to lure Christmas shoppers and enable them to better compete with the expected new iPhone," IDC said.

"2011 will be an increasingly difficult year for Nokia, as consumers side-step Symbian smartphones and feature phone popularity continues to dwindle," Novosel said. "Microsoft will also face a tough year with slow Windows Phone 7 growth expected, as the iOS and Android tussle intensifies. As Nokia launches its first Windows Phone models in early 2012, and Symbian shipments eventually stop, Microsoft should start to see an uplift."