Boston, MA - April 25, 2013 – According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global mobile phone shipments dipped minus 1 percent annually to reach 373 million units in Q1 2013. Samsung was the star performer, capturing a record 29 percent share of all mobile phones shipped worldwide.

Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “Ongoing macroeconomic challenges in Asia, Europe and North America, relatively tighter operator upgrade policies for 3G phones, and slowing volumes of 2G feature phones were among the key reasons why global mobile phone shipments dipped minus 1 percent annually to reach 372.7 million units in Q1 2013. Fuelled by robust demand for its popular Galaxy portfolio, Samsung was the star performer, shipping 106.6 million mobile phones worldwide and capturing a record 29 percent marketshare to solidify its first-place lead.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Nokia’s global mobile phone shipments fell 25 percent from 82.7 million units in Q1 2012 to 61.9 million in Q1 2013. Weak Symbian smartphone volumes and lackluster feature phone demand caused Nokia’s shrinkage. Nonetheless, Nokia remains the world’s second largest mobile phone vendor by volume, and if it can expand aggressively its fast-growing Lumia and Asha ranges this year, then there is still potential for Nokia’s position to stabilize or recover.”

Woody Oh, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, “Apple grew just 7 percent annually and shipped 37.4 million iPhones worldwide in Q1 2013. Apple’s global mobile phone marketshare is approaching a peak. Apple will need to launch new models, or partner with additional major carriers like China Mobile, if it wants to expand significantly beyond its current ceiling of 10 percent global volume share.”

Other findings from the research include:

• LG held fourth position with 4 percent share of the global mobile phone market. LG has been ramping up its LTE 4G shipments, with popular models from the Optimus range, and this helped LG to grow at an above-average rate of 18 percent annually in the quarter;
• ZTE delivered 4 percent share of the global mobile phone market in Q1 2013, its lowest level for almost three years. ZTE is experiencing heightened competition in core markets like China and Western Europe from rivals such as Coolpad and Samsung.  

Exhibit 1: Global Mobile Phone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q1 2013  [1]

The full report, Global Handset Shipments Reach 373 Million Units in Q1 2013, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/cr7fhmb.  

About Strategy Analytics:

Strategy Analytics is a global, independent research and consulting firm. The company is headquartered in Boston, USA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India and China. Visit www.strategyanalytics.com for more information. 

Americas Contact:

Neil Shah / +1 617 614 0727 / NShah@strategyanalytics.com             

Europe Contact

Neil Mawston / +44 1908 423 628 / NMawston@strategyanalytics.com  

Asia Contact:

Woody Oh / +44 1908 423 665 / WOh@strategyanalytics.com

Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team has been pleased to attend Huawei's 10th Global Analyst Summit in China between Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th April, 2013.

Huawei has been outlining over three days its worldwide strategy for mobile devices, services, enterprises and networks in 2013.

Our summarized findings from Day One (Tuesday) and Day Two (Wednesday) can be viewed here and here.

These are three of our top findings from Day Three (Wednesday), the final instalment:

1. Huawei remains the world's number one vendor of dongles. This gives it a good relationship with global carriers and enables cross-selling of phones and tablets.

2. Huawei's smartphone unit is market-ready to support TD-LTE technology when it launches in China in H2 2013 or H1 2014;

3. Huawei is focusing mostly on Android and Microsoft platforms for smartphones / tablets this year. Other emerging operating systems are a wait-and-see option.

Overall, the Huawei Summit has been very interesting. Huawei is not yet a "Samsung killer" or "Apple killer" in the cellphone world, but it is clear they are in its sights.

See you next year.

Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team is proud to attend Huawei's 10th Global Analyst Summit in China between Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th April, 2013.

Huawei is outlining over three days its worldwide strategy for mobile devices, services, enterprises and networks in 2013.

Our summarized findings from Day One (Tuesday) can be viewed here.

These are three of our top findings from Day Two (Wednesday):

1. Huawei was the world's third largest smartphone vendor in Q4 2012 and it aims to build on that success with upgraded smartphone models, like the Ascend P2, in 2013;

2. Huawei's tablet strategy has historically focused on global operator channels. There will be an expansion to more open-retail channels, including online, in 2013;

3. The Emotion UI -- Huawei's own user-interface sitting on top of Android -- will eventually be standardized and unified across small, mid and big screens, from the phone to the set-top-box. This is encouraging for the company, as it will control costs and improve the user-experience.

More analysis from Day Three to follow on Thursday.

Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team is proud to attend Huawei's 10th Global Analyst Summit between Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th April, 2013. Around 500 analysts and journalists are attending the event at a hotel in Shenzhen, China, near Hong Kong. Just 20 people attended the first Summit a decade ago.

Huawei has been outlining its strategy for mobile devices, enterprises and networks in 2013 / 2014. These are three of our top findings from Day One (Tuesday):

1. Brand is king for Huawei. The Make It Possible (MIP) campaign, which aims to make the brand more emotive, is being ramped up across 30+ countries (e.g. UK);

2. Huawei Ascend W1, the vendor's first WP8 smartphone, was demoed. Its pricing is competitive, at circa US$120 wholesale worldwide in H1 2013. Usability is typical of a mid-range device -- good, but not great (e.g. mixed touchscreen responsiveness);

3. NFC will play an important role in Huawei's smartphone and tablet strategy for the next two years.

More analysis from Day Two to follow on Wednesday.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, Nokia shipped 62 million mobile phones worldwide in Q1 2013, down to 2005 levels, in a seasonally weaker post-holiday quarter with consequent sluggish demand in feature phones globally. In contrast, Nokia saw demand for its line of WP8-based Lumia smartphones grow robustly as it expanded the reach to dozens of new markets. Additionally, tighter cost controls and lower operating expenses helped Nokia eke out some positive operating profits. However, Nokia has its work cut out for the rest of 2013 to ramp up Lumia smartphone shipments quickly to offset the Symbian and feature phone slowdowns. Improving its sub-par performance in China, US, UK, Japan and Korea should also be a priority for Nokia this year. More analysis can be viewed by clients in this published report: http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=reportabstractviewer&a0=8429.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, Nokia shipped 62 million mobile phones worldwide in Q1 2013, down to 2005 levels, in a seasonally weaker post-holiday quarter with consequent sluggish demand in feature phones globally. In contrast, Nokia saw demand for its line of WP8-based Lumia smartphones grow robustly as it expanded the reach to dozens of new markets. Additionally, tighter cost controls and lower operating expenses helped Nokia eke out some positive operating profits. However, Nokia has its work cut out for the rest of 2013 to ramp up Lumia smartphone shipments quickly to offset the Symbian and feature phone slowdowns. Improving its sub-par performance in China, US, UK, Japan and Korea should also be a priority for Nokia this year. More analysis can be viewed by clients in this published report: http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=reportabstractviewer&a0=8429.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, Nokia shipped 62 million mobile phones worldwide in Q1 2013, down to 2005 levels, in a seasonally weaker post-holiday quarter with consequent sluggish demand in feature phones globally. In contrast, Nokia saw demand for its line of WP8-based Lumia smartphones grow robustly as it expanded the reach to dozens of new markets. Additionally, tighter cost controls and lower operating expenses helped Nokia eke out some positive operating profits. However, Nokia has its work cut out for the rest of 2013 to ramp up Lumia smartphone shipments quickly to offset the Symbian and feature phone slowdowns. Improving its sub-par performance in China, US, UK, Japan and Korea should also be a priority for Nokia this year. More analysis can be viewed by clients in this published report: http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=reportabstractviewer&a0=8429.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, NFC phones have reached a tipping point this year and global volumes will surge an impressive 138% in 2013. Most new LTE phones will launch with NFC in the future, led by key players such as Samsung, Blackberry, Sony, Android, GSMA, G&D and Visa. Paying, pairing and sharing are among the main use-cases for NFC. This published report, available to clients, contains forecasts for global NFC phone sales in 6 major regions, including North America, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Central & Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe and Africa Middle East, from 2004 to 2017. The report also forecasts worldwide NFC handset sales by installed base and by device type, as well as analysis of the technology's drivers and adoption challenges.

Our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) team wrote a report in 2011 predicting Coolpad would be a fast-growing mobile phone microvendor of the future. Fast forward to 2013 and that prediction is on track to coming true. Coolpad, of China, has transitioned from microvendor to a known vendor. Coolpad is now a global top-15 mobile phone player and nearly a top-10 smartphone brand, having surged from almost nowhere two years ago. What is driving the growth? Keen pricing of 3G models, a good Android portfolio for entry users, and a solid retail presence in open channels across China are three main causes of its expansion. However, Coolpad's global growth is coming more in "volume" than "value". Recent financial results indicate profits softened last year. Coolpad will need a hot-selling flagship 3G or 4G phone for international markets (where profits can be larger) if it wants to strengthen profitability this year.

According to our Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, global LTE handset sales will surge +194% in 2013. The United States is currently the world's largest 4G market, while South Korea is the most advanced. Apple and Samsung are the "big 2" LTE handset vendors right now, due to their unrivalled brands, attractive products, generous operator subsidies, and extensive distribution. This published report, available to clients, forecasts global LTE handset sales for 88 countries worldwide from 2010 to 2017. Almost every major country worldwide is covered, including United States, China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and many others. The report can be used by operators, software developers, content developers, handset vendors, component makers, car manufacturers and other stakeholders to determine or prioritize the size and growth rate of the huge 4G phone market.