Global handset shipments rose by just 3% to 368 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to a latest research from Strategy Analytics.
The research firm said the factors impacting the handset market involve volatility in the global economy, including the sovereign debt crisis in developed markets like Western Europe, and a key decline in volumes from Nokia.
The report, Samsung Overtakes Nokia to Become World’s Largest Handset Vendor in Q1 2012, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service.
Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston said Nokia’s global handset shipments declined a huge 24% annually to 82.7 million units in Q1 2012.
"Volumes were squeezed at both ends, as low-end feature phone shipments in emerging markets stalled and high-end Microsoft Lumia smartphones were unable to offset the rapid decline of Nokia’s legacy Symbian business," added Neil.
"Nokia was the world’s largest handset vendor between 1998 and 2011, for 14 years, before finally yielding top position to rival Samsung this quarter."
Strategy Analytics director at Tom Kang said Apple shipped a healthy 35.1 million handsets worldwide in Q1 2012, nearly doubling from 18.6 million units in Q1 2011.
"Demand for the new iPhone 4S model remained strong in the United States and Japan, while the recent launch of the 4S in China was a timely contributor to Apple’s rapid growth added Tom."
"We expect Apple to grow further in the second quarter of the year, but the upcoming launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy S3 flagship model could slow iPhone’s growth in some regions if it is well received by operators and consumers."
