Well, Apple has done it again. In the first quarter of this year, Apple has managed to ship 8.75 million iPhones. This number gives them 4% of the total global mobile phone market.
While Motorola fared quite well, shipping 8.5 million handsets last quarter, it was not good enough to keep up with the iPhone’s momentum. The iPhone jumped about 130% year over year, where Motorola fell 42%. Apple still has ways to go to top Research in Motion’s Blackberry’s, which show no signs of disappearing anytime soon. RIM shipped 10.47 million of their devices in the first quarter of this year, and that’s certainly nothing to scoff at. Apple is now the 6th top manufacturer for the global mobile phone market, and Motorola is now the 8th.
The massive growth of Apple’s shipments really shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The iPhone 3GS is still a great device. It managed to stay at the top of its game until just this past January. With devices such as the Droid Incredible, and the EVO 4G coming out, the iPhone 3GS may soon be unseated as the king of the smartphone realm. Still, June is right around the corner, and we’re definitely expecting a new iPhone announcement at the WWDC conference next month. But this time, rivals are actually ready to take Apple’s smartphone on hit for hit. Whether or not being ready for the new iPhone will actually slow the sales of the new ‘i” device is anyone’s guess. My guess is absolutely not, but the smartphone market is still growing, and there can definitely be more than one winner with such a small market.
Speaking of June, it is turning out to be the month to watch if you’re going to be in the market for a new smartphone. The best thing to do is wait another month after everything has been out for a while, read up on the good and bad of all devices you’ve got your eye on, and maybe look out for a price drop. Who knows, maybe then another phone will come out to decimate them all, but that’s just the hopeless (geek) romantic in me.
Just don’t count Motorola out of the game. The Droid-maker could come swinging to regain some of their lost market share. With something like the Shadow/Droid 2 coming out in the future, they may refuel the Android craze once again, as they did with the first Droid device for Verizon.
[Via: AppleInsider]