Apple is now the world’s third largest mobile phone manufacturer, according to the research gurus at IDC, surging ahead of LG and ZTE to claim its spot behind Nokia and Samsung.
To clarify: this isn’t smartphones we’re talking about (Apple is thought to be around neck-and-neck with Samsung in terms of smartphone shipments) but mobile phones in general – that’s pretty incredible when you consider Apple only makes three different phones, all of which are smartphones. What’s even more so? Last month, IDC had Chinese upstart ZTE overtaking Apple: with the launch of one product, Apple has leapt right over it and LG.
Meet the biggest phone makers you’ve never heard of
The figures show that Apple shipped more iPhones in the fourth quarter of 2011 than LG and ZTE combined, gaining a market share of 8.7 percent – more than double the share it held at the same point in 2010. IDC credits the launch of the iPhone 4S, which went on sale in October, with this sharp surge. Nokia has a share of 26.6 percent, and Samsung 22.8 percent, so Apple still has quite a way to go before it can knock these players off their perch: though with record earnings, Tim Cook probably isn’t too concerned about getting into the dumbphone business, or the incredibly dangerous mid-range smartphone market.
When the first iPhone was launched in 2007, Steve Jobs said Apple was aiming for a 1 percent market share in mobile phones. Impressive to think that four years later, the Cupertino company is within touching distance of gaining a full 10 percent of the market.
(Via Mac Rumors)
