Global smart mobile device sales surge past 10 million in quarter
- Converged devices drive growth, Symbian share continues to rise
Reading, UK - Tuesday, 26 April 2005
For immediate release
- Overall global shipments of smart mobile devices up 82% year on year
in Q1 2005
- Handhelds down 6%, but converged devices (smart phones and wireless
handhelds) up 137%
- Nokia ships 5.4 million smart phones to give it 50% market share
- PalmOne growth slows to 1%, lead over RIM and HP shrinks
- Fujitsu becomes second largest provider of Symbian-based handsets
Worldwide smart mobile devices Q1 2005 - research highlights...
Nokia continued its relentless advance in the global smart mobile device
market in Q1, shipping a record 5.4 million smart phones in the quarter.
Shipments were once again boosted by the introduction of new models,
notably the business-oriented Nokia 9300 clamshell keyboard model, which
followed the introduction of the Nokia 9500 Communicator in the previous
quarter. The majority of Nokia's smart phone shipments are Series 60
handsets, such as the Nokia 6670, which appeal to a wide audience, but
the arrival of the Nokia 9300 has been greatly anticipated by mobile
professionals and it enjoyed a high level of pre-orders.
Worldwide total smart mobile device market
Market shares Q1 2005, Q1 2004
Source: Canalys estimates, copyright 2005 canalys.com ltd.
Smart mobile device market: handhelds, wireless handhelds, smart phones
(Table graphic available from Canalys web site)
"The keyboard-based models are important products in Nokia's push to
become the preferred device supplier for enterprise mobility," said
Chris Jones, Canalys director and senior analyst. "But both were in
development prior to the formation of Nokia's Enterprise Solutions
Group, and we expect to see it bring many more business-class smart
phones to market over the coming quarters. With demand among businesses
for sophisticated mobile e-mail growing rapidly, all vendors need to
consider how they will address this need, not only in terms of device
design and software integration, but also in their routes to market."
The recent publicity surrounding the withdrawal of Motorola's MPx
keyboard-based smart phone, more than a year after it was first shown,
highlights just how difficult vendors can find it to bring some of these
more complex devices to market. "Even when the technical hardware and
software hurdles are overcome, there remain the challenges of getting
the right channel and operator relationships in place, and motivating
those intermediaries to reach the IT decision-makers rather than the
traditional mobile phone buyers in the enterprise," Jones added.
RIM is one company that has put a great deal of effort into such
relationships, boasting the support of over a hundred operators today.
Its shipments doubled year on year in Q1 2005 according to Canalys
estimates, helping it achieve third place behind palmOne, whose
shipments rose just 1%. PalmOne's handheld shipments fell 27%, but this
was counterbalanced by the continued success of its Treo smart phones in
the US. Around 40% of palmOne's device shipments are now accounted for
by Treo smart phones, up from 17% a year earlier. However, with the US
representing almost 80% of the company's smart phone shipments, it
clearly still needs to expand its reach and relationships in EMEA and
the Asia/Pacific regions to compete effectively on a global scale.
Fujitsu, in fourth place overall, became the second largest Symbian
handset vendor in Q1 2005, with unit shipments growing in line with the
sector average. The dominant provider of FOMA phones for NTT DoCoMo in
Japan, its position was helped by a full quarter of shipments of the
F901iC. Mitsubishi's D901i FOMA phone also helped raise Symbian's
volumes in the region.
Worldwide total smart mobile device market
Market shares by operating system Q1 2005, Q1 2004
Source: Canalys estimates, copyright 2005 canalys.com ltd.
Smart mobile device market: handhelds, wireless handhelds, smart phones
(Table graphic available from Canalys web site)
Symbian's overall share of the worldwide smart mobile device market rose
above 60%, from around 40% a year earlier. Despite increasing activity
among Asian licensees of the OS, the proportion of shipments accounted
for by Nokia remains very high at 82%. While this is down a few
percentage points sequentially it is dramatically up on the 70% seen a
year earlier.
"Symbian will enjoy the volume Nokia brings, but I expect it would also
like to see the other licensees expanding their portfolios," commented
Canalys analyst Rachel Lashford. "Their focus remains on producing
lower-specification, lower-cost 3G and 2G imaging phones for the mass
market. Some enterprise customers may feel uncomfortable about adopting
a platform so dominated by one vendor. The recent arrival of the Series
60 based Nokia 3230 heralds the company's first steps in pushing the OS
down into the mid-market, which, if successful, is likely to
significantly increase not only Symbian's volume, but also Nokia's share
of it."
An overview of global smart mobile device market trends, along with
market share data, forecasts and profiles of the leading vendors, can be
found in the newly published Mobile Device Trends 2005 report. More
information is available from the Canalys web site at
www.canalys.com/reports.
