» Nokia, RIM, and Motorola Hit it Big in Smartphone MarketTelecommunications Industry News

Telecom News Editorials Reports Glossary

Nokia, RIM, and Motorola Hit it Big in Smartphone Market

7:30 am on March 5, 2007 | Category: Business, Cell Phones, Mobile Devices, PDAs

Converged wireless devices were the toast of the handset industry last year, with a total of 80 million PDA smartphones shipped worldwide. That represents growth of 42% over last year, according to a new study by IDC.

Much of this growth was due to the falling price of smartphones, the market research said, noting that many of the devices are now sold for less than $200, putting them within easy reach of the non-enterprise consumer market.

Nokia was by far the leading manufacturer of smartphones last year, IDC reports. The Finnish handset giant shipped a total of 38 million of the devices over the course of 2006, for a total market share of 48%.

Ontario-based Research In Motion came in a relatively distant second place, shipping 6 million of its BlackBerry email devices, and capturing a cool 7.5% of the global market.

But it was Motorola, a relative newbie to the smartphone market that achieved the highest growth last year, shipping 4.9 million units, 104% more than in 2005. This increase was largely driven by the launch of the Motorola Q in North America, as well as the Ming device, which has proven popular Asian markets.

Telecommunications Industry News