USA Nov 2012 : Samsung stills number one with 26,9% Apple 18,5% market share.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

USA Nov 2012 : Samsung stills number one with 26,9% Apple 18,5% market share.

Samsung and Apple Continue to Seize Share in OEM Market

comScore, Inc. , a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending November 2012. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 26.9 percent market share. Google Android continued to lead among smartphone platforms, accounting for 53.7 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple secured 35 percent.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in November, device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 26.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points). Apple ranked second with 18.5 percent market share (up 1.4 percentage points), followed by LG with 17.5 percent share, Motorola with 10.4 percent and HTC with 5.9 percent.

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2012 vs. 3 Month Ending Aug. 2012 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Aug-12	Nov-12	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	25.7%	26.9%	1.2
Apple	17.1%	18.5%	1.4
LG	18.2%	17.5%	-0.7
Motorola	11.2%	10.4%	-0.8
HTC	6.3%	5.9%	-0.4

Smartphone Platform Market Share

123.3 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (53 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in November, up 6 percent since August. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 53.7 percent market share (up 1.1 percentage points), while Apple’s share increased 0.7 percentage points to 35 percent. RIM ranked third with 7.3 percent share, followed by Microsoft (3 percent) and Symbian (0.5 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2012 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	Aug-12	Nov-12	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Google	52.6%	53.7%	1.1
Apple	34.3%	35.0%	0.7
RIM	8.3%	7.3%	-1.0
Microsoft	3.6%	3.0%	-0.6
Symbian	0.7%	0.5%	-0.2

Mobile Content Usage

In November, 75.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device (up 0.3 percentage points). Downloaded applications were used by 54.2 percent of subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points), while browsers were used by 52.1 percent (up 0.1 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.9 percentage points to 39.2 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.7 percent of the mobile audience, while 28.7 percent listened to music on their phones (up 0.4 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Aug. 2012 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Aug-12	Nov-12	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Sent text message to another phone	75.6%	75.9%	0.3
Used downloaded apps	53.4%	54.2%	0.8
Used browser	52.0%	52.1%	0.1
Accessed social networking site or blog	38.3%	39.2%	0.9
Played Games	34.0%	33.7%	-0.3
Listened to music on mobile phone	28.3%	28.7%	0.4

About MobiLens

MobiLens data is derived from an intelligent online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile subscribers age 13 and older. Data on mobile phone usage refers to a respondent’s primary mobile phone and does not include data related to a respondent’s secondary device.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

Contact:

Stephanie Flosi

Senior Marketing Communications Analyst

comScore, Inc. 

+1 312 777 8801

press@comscore.com

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China: Q3 2012: Androids take 90,1% market share.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

China: Q3 2012: Androids take 90,1% market share.

Google's Android platform has taken a 90% share of the smartphone platform market in China. However, as iPhone 5 and many Windows Phone 8 models will be introduced to the China market at the end of 2012, Android's market share is expected to decline.

According to market research institutes, Android has taken more than 70% share of the global smartphone market. As for the China market, which has been dominated by low-price smartphones, the Android platform has taken about 90% of the market. Another research institute stated that among smartphones in China, Android has seen increasing market share from 58.2% in third-quarter 2011, to 90.1% in third-quarter 2012.

Handset makers noted that this is mainly due to the multiple brands and price ranges that carry the Android platform. Also, handset makers added, Android has been excelling in market share because iPhone and Windows Phone have been transitioning to new models.

In China, handset makers have been promoting the Android platform with models priced under CNY1,000 (US$160) which has been pushing the platform to lead in market share. Studies show the average price of Android smartphones in China in the third quarter was CNY1,393, a 10% on-quarter decrease. This average price is far lower than the price of CNY4,523 for iOS handsets. Compared to the average price of CNY3,000 and CNY2,000 for Blackberry OS and Windows Phone, respectively, the average price for Android handsets is also cheaper.

The expanding market share of Android is creating tougher competition for other platforms. iPhone has a sizable market share of 4.2% in the high-end market in China, however, this is far lower than its 14-15% share in the global market.

In the past, China's smartphone market was dominated by Nokia's Symbian platform. In the third quarter of 2012, Symbian's market share dropped to 2.4%.

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Q3 2012: Samsung Galxy SIII named as top-selling smartphone.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Q3 2012: Samsung Galxy SIII named as top-selling smartphone.

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S to become the world’s best-selling smartphone in Q3, according to Strategy Analytics – though the firm expects Apple to regain the crown in the current quarter.

The South Korean vendor’s flagship Android device clocked up sales of 18 million in the quarter, giving it a 10.7 percent share of the global smartphone market. Sales of the device more than tripled from the 5.4 million shipped in Q2.

“A large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S3’s success,” said Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Samsung itself only sporadically publishes smartphone sales figures. However, it confirmed earlier this week that the Galaxy S3 has surpassed 30 million global sales since launching five months ago.

Apple is said to have sold 16.2 million units of the iPhone 4S and 6 million of its successor, the iPhone 5, for 9.7 percent and 3.6 percent shares, respectively.

There were 127.6 million smartphones from other vendors shipped in the quarter, says Strategy Analytics, accounting for 76 percent of the market.

“We expect the new iPhone 5 to outship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in [Q4] and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model,” added Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics. 

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Q3 2012: Apple holds first position but drops to a 50,4% tablet market share.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Please click on the charts below to enlarge the view.

Q3 2012: Apple holds first position but drops to a 50,4%  tablet market share.

Worldwide tablet shipments totaled 27.8 million units in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. The tablet market grew 49.5% year over year in 3Q12 and 6.7% over the second quarter of 2012. Android shipments, led by Samsung and Amazon, surged during the quarter, at the expense of Apple, which saw its share slip notably during the quarter.

"After a very strong second quarter, Apple saw growth slow as both consumer and commercial (including education) shipments declined, and rumors of a forthcoming iPad mini began to heat up," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Tablets at IDC.

 "We believe a sizeable percentage of consumers interested in buying an Apple tablet sat out the third quarter in anticipation of an announcement about the new iPad mini. Now that the new mini, and a fourth-generation full-sized iPad, are both shipping we expect Apple to have a very good quarter. However, we believe the mini's relatively high $329 starting price leaves plenty of room for Android vendors to build upon the success they achieved in the third quarter."

Apple's slowdown put a sizeable dent in the company's commanding worldwide market tablet share, which slipped from 65.5% in 2Q12 to 50.4% in 3Q12. The remaining top five tablet vendors all gained share during the quarter as a result. Most notable was the impressive quarter turned out by Samsung—driven by its ever-growing portfolio of tablets. Samsung shipped 5.1 million tablets worldwide in 3Q12, up 115.0% from 2Q12; that's an increase of 325.0% from 3Q11, when it shipped 1.2 million tablets.

The top 5 was rounded out by Amazon, ASUS, and Lenovo; with all three vendors experiencing sequential growth over 2Q12 while Lenovo and ASUS also saw solid year-over-year growth. Amazon, which did not have product in 3Q11, announced new 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablets late in the quarter, and began shipping the new 7-inch HD version (in addition to a refreshed version of the original 7-inch Fire) in mid-September.

This helped grow its worldwide market share from 4.8% in 2Q12 to 9.0% in 3Q12, despite only shipping in the U.S. (the company began shipping into five additional countries in 4Q12). ASUS' share growth was backed by strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7 device; Lenovo's gains were driven by strong shipments in China.

"Samsung took advantage of an opportunity in the second quarter," said Ryan Reith, program manager, IDC's Mobile Device Trackers. "The company offers a wide range of tablet offerings across multiple screen sizes and colors, and that clearly resonated with more buyers this quarter. Its growth to 18.4% of worldwide market share during the quarter represents the first time a competitor has attained this level of share since the original launch of the iPad."

"Competitors are turning up the pressure on market leader Apple," Reith added. "With the recent introduction of a number of Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets, consumers now have a third viable tablet platform from which to choose. However, price points are critical in tablets, and Microsoft and its partners will have a tough time winning a share of consumer wallet with price points starting at $500." 

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Q3 2012: Android Captures Record 41 % Share of Global Tablet Shipments. Closed the gap on iPad.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Q3 2012: Android Captures Record 41 % Share of Global Tablet Shipments. Closed the gap on iPad.

Exhibit 1: Global Tablet Operating System Shipments and Market Share in Q3 2012 [1]

Global Tablet OS Shipments (Millions of Units)	Q3 '11	Q3 '12
Apple iOS	11.1	14.0
Android	5.0	10.2
Microsoft	0.4	0.4
Others	0.7	0.1
Total	17.2	24.7
Global Tablet OS Market Share %	Q3 '11	Q3 '12
Apple iOS	64.5%	56.7%
Android	29.2%	41.3%
Microsoft	2.3%	1.6%
Others	4.1%	0.4%
Total	100.0%	100.0%
Total Growth Year-over-Year %	288.6%	43.4%

---

[1] Shipments refer to sell-in. Numbers are rounded. The definition of tablet does not include e-book readers.

According to the latest research from our Tablet & Touchscreen Strategies (TTS) service, global tablet shipments reached 25 million units in the third quarter of 2012. Apple iOS slipped to 57 percent global market share, allowing Android to capture a record 41 percent share.

Peter King, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global tablet shipments reached 24.7 million units in Q3 2012, rising a sluggish 43 percent from 17.2 million in Q3 2011. Demand for tablets slowed due to ongoing economic uncertainty and consumers holding off purchases in anticipation of multiple new models, like the iPad Mini, during the upcoming Q4 holiday season. Apple shipped a disappointing 14.0 million iPads worldwide and captured 57 percent share in the third quarter of 2012, dipping from 64 percent a year ago. Apple’s slowdown allowed the Android community to make gains and Android’s global share of the tablet market now stands at a record 41 percent.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Android captured a record 41 percent share of global tablet shipments in Q3 2012, jumping from 29 percent a year earlier. Global Android tablet shipments doubled annually to 10.2 million units. No single Android vendor comes close to Apple in volume terms at the moment, but the collective weight of dozens of hardware partners, such as Asus, Samsung and Nook, is helping Google’s Android platform to register a growing presence in tablets.”

Other findings from the research include:

• Global tablet shipments grew just 43 percent annually in Q3 2012, compared with 289 percent annually in Q2 2011. This was the weakest growth rate since the modern tablet industry began in Q2 2010;
• Microsoft captured a niche 2 percent global tablet share in Q3 2012. The imminent release of the new Windows 8 operating system will likely drive Microsoft tablet volumes higher during the Q4 2012 holiday season.

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3Q 2012: WorldWide smartphone and mobile phone market share. Samsung leading.Charts.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Please click on the charts below to enlarge the view:

3Q 2012: WorldWide smartphone and mobile phone market share. Samsung leading.Charts.

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 2.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), driven by heavyweights Samsung and Apple as Nokia dropped off the Top 5 list of smartphone vendors. 

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 444.5 million mobile phones in 3Q12 compared to 434.1 million units in the third quarter of 2011.

In the worldwide smartphone market vendors shipped 179.7 million units in 3Q12 compared to 123.7 million units in 3Q11. The 45.3% year-over-year growth was slightly above IDC's forecast of 45.2% for the quarter.

Equally noteworthy was the decline of Nokia, which was replaced by Research In Motion as a Top 5 smartphone player. Nokia's exit from the Top 5, where it had resided since the inception of IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker in 2004, was precipitated by the rise of Samsung and Apple globally and high-growth vendors like Huawei in China, where Nokia was the dominant player as recently as the third quarter of 2011.

"Nokia's share losses have meant gains for competitors," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "The company's transition away from Symbian-powered smartphones to ones shipped with Windows Phone has left ample opportunity for rivals to steal share away from Nokia over the past 18 months. However, the smartphone market is still relatively nascent, which means there's room for multiple vendors and operating systems to flourish, including Nokia."

"Nokia is not the only smartphone vendor in transition," added Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "Research In Motion, although still a market leader, expects to start shipping its first BB10 devices in 2013. Motorola, once the number 3 smartphone vendor worldwide, is redirecting itself under its parent company Google. These are just two vendors among many that feel the competitive pressure of Samsung and Apple, but are striving to create multiple points of differentiation to assert upward pressure."

Nonetheless, IDC expects long-term mobile phone and smartphone shipment demand to grow due to the central role mobile phones play in people's lives. "At the heart of mobility is communication," noted Llamas. 

"Mobile phones and smartphones play a critical role in keeping people connected, regardless of location. In addition, their utility beyond communication – productivity, entertainment, and multimedia – continues to add to their value."

Smartphone Vendor Highlights

Samsung maintained its leadership position in the worldwide smartphone market, posting another record quarter for itself and the industry, and more than double the total volume of its next closest competitor, Apple. This marks the first time since 4Q09 that a single company held more than 31% market share in a single quarter. Samsung's growth was fueled in large part by its broad, deep, and refreshed Android portfolio, highlighted by the full quarter availability of its flagship model Galaxy S III. In addition, the company announced multiple mid-range and mass-market models, including a new Windows Phone, the ATIV S.

Apple iPhone shipments finished the quarter nearly flat from the previous quarter, reaching a total of 26.9 million units. Although the iPhone 5 was only on the market for one week in 3Q12, the aggressive rollout of the device resulted in more than 5 million iPhones sold in the first weekend of availability, which helped buoy Apple's shipment totals. iPhone sales weren't dampened by the introduction of its Maps software, which was not completely ready for use. Instead, the iPhone 5's larger screen and 4G LTE connectivity generated user interest. What remains to be seen is how Apple will fare during the holiday quarter, when the iPhone 5 will be available in more countries worldwide.

Research In Motion's shipment volumes appear to have flattened though the company posted the second-highest year-over-year decline of any the leading vendors. RIM relied on its older product portfolio and models to achieve its status as a top 5 smartphone seller. RIM's installed base, which topped 80 million active users during the quarter, provides further evidence of the company's widespread presence globally. Still, without a new flagship model in time for the holiday season and BB10 models not expected until the first quarter of 2013, RIM's position as a top 5 smartphone vendor will be under tremendous pressure from other companies.

ZTE finished among the top 5 smartphone vendors globally thanks to continued international diversification efforts last quarter. ZTE has grown its smartphone sales of late thanks primarily to an uptick in lower-cost smartphone sales in many emerging markets. The company has traditionally been dependent on sales of phones to China, where the company is based. However, notable progress was made in North America last quarter.

HTC clung to the number 5 smartphone spot last quarter thanks to sales of key models such as the HTC One X and the EVO 4G. Continued year-over-year growth in the Asia/Pacific region helped the smartphone vendor offset some of the share losses the vendor has endured in key mature markets, namely the U.S. The company hopes to rejuvenate its global fortunes this quarter with the introduction of the 8X and 8S models, powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, among others. However, it will have to convince consumers that the differences between the models and Android-powered phones or iPhones are interesting enough to merit a purchase. 

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