Worldwide smartphone market continued to put up strong performance, with shipments crossing more than 55 million units during the first quarter of 2010, even though that represents a drop of about one million compared to 4Q-2009, according to data from ABI Research.
The firm said that Nokia’s shipments rose QoQ from 20.8 million to 21.5 million and its smartphone shipments expanded 25%, largely on the strength of its new models such as the "C" and "X" lines. Worldwide iPhone shipments increased to 8.8 million from 8.7 million.
ABI Research said that much of the fastest growth is being seen in markets previously little penetrated by expensive, cutting-edge smartphones. With new less expensive models becoming available, the global market is becoming much more diverse.
Michael Morgan, senior analyst at ABI Research, said: "Normally we would see a much greater decline in shipments in the first quarter; the fact that the drop was so relatively small highlights the continuing dynamic growth of the smartphone market."
"These are not ‘iPhone-killers’. They’re simpler, lower-end devices, not bleeding-edge top-of-the-line technologies, but they can still deliver satisfying social networking and other basic smartphone experiences. The smartphone market as a whole was probably buoyed by improving first quarter holiday season demand from the Asia-Pacific region."
