Global shipments of smartphones have surpassed feature phones during the first quarter of 2013, according to a new report from IDC.
According to the report, about 216.2 million smartphones were shipped during the quarter, just over half (51.6%) of the overall phone shipments.
During the quarter, mobile phone shipments increased by 4% to 418.6 million in 1Q13 compared to 402.4 million units shipped during corresponding quarter in 2012.
IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker senior research analyst, Kevin Restivo, said phone users want computers in their pockets. "The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away," Restivo said. "As a result, the balance of smartphone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smartphones."
During the quarter, the global smartphone market rose 41.6% compared to 1Q12.
IDC Mobile Phone team research manager Ramon Llamas said in addition to smartphones displacing feature phones, the other major trend in the industry is the emergence of Chinese companies among the leading smartphone vendors.
"A year ago, it was common to see previous market leaders Nokia, BlackBerry (then Research In Motion), and HTC among the top five," Llamas said. "While those companies have been in various stages of transformation since, Chinese vendors, including Huawei and ZTE as well as Coolpad and Lenovo, have made significant strides to capture new users with their respective Android smartphones."
Samsung topped the list of vendor shipments in the global smartphone market, followed by Apple, LG, Huawei and ZTE.
