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Strategy Analytics: 13% of all mobile phones shipped in Q1 2011 were from a company you never heard of

Categories: Research
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 3:50 AM
china

Thanks to Google’s open source operating system Android, cheap overseas labor, and a bunch of businessmen who are willing to play the high volume, low margins game, an estimated 13% of all mobile phones shipped during the first 3 months of this year were made by companies like Micromax, Spice Mobile, and Yulong Coolpad; in other words, people you never heard of. The bean counters at Strategy Analytics who came up with this assessment say:

“In Q1 2011, Micromax, Spice Mobile and Yulong Coolpad emerged in India and China, as key vendors outperforming major international handset brands like Sony Ericsson and Motorola. Micromax and Spice successfully built their portfolio with feature-rich, multi-SIM handsets which span across ultra-low and entry-tier segments, catering to growing rural subscribers. These companies are now launching mid-tier 3G handsets and Android smartphones which target the growing category of urban and suburban 3G subscribers. Hong Kong-based vendor, Yulong Coolpad, is on track to becoming a known player in the China 3G market, supplying affordable, mid-tier 3G smartphones to suburban and urban users. Yulong Coolpad is growing relationships with all three Chinese mobile carriers, tapping the growing 3G boom in this important handset market.”

At this point you’re expecting us to say something terrible about the reliability and build quality of these devices, but we’re not. If these off brand firms can make something that will connect people to the internet for the first time for cheaper than what the big boys can offer, then we wish them the best. With time they’ll iron out all their kinks, and who knows, maybe in 10 years we’ll see someone steal Nokia’s top spot as the king of phone vendors by volume. Brand loyalty has no importance when you’re a farmer who just moved to the city in search of a better life and are trying to get by on a meager salary. You buy what you can.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • http://www.facebook.com/nagarjunak Nagarjuna Kristam

    amazing analysis in last paragraph… nice observation

  • http://twitter.com/jmangotweets JMango

    Companies like this will fuel even faster growth in smartphone sales. Their handsets are usually respectable, with way lower costs than the established brands.

  • adexcellpone

    I AM HANDSET DEALER AND I NEED A MAJOR SUPPLIER.