Worldwide Smartphone Shipments Increase 87.2% YoY in 2010: IDC

Taipei, Feb. 11, 2011 (CENS)--Global shipments of smartphones hit 100.9 million units during the fourth quarter of 2010, up 87.2% from the 53.9 million shipped during the same period a year earlier, or year-on-year (YoY), according to International Data Corporation (IDC)'s latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

For the full 2010, vendors shipped a total of 302.6 million smartphones worldwide, up 74.4% from the 173.5 million units shipped in 2009, the major market research firm said.

High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) of Taiwan ranked the No. 5 vendor in 2010, trailing Nokia, Apple, Research In Motion (RIM), and Samsung, by shipping 21.5 million smartphones in last year, translating into market share of 4.7%.

Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team, said that Android continues to gain by leaps and bounds, helping to drive the smartphone market. "Although Symbian has the backing of market leader Nokia, Android has multiple vendors, including HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung and a growing list of companies deploying Android on their devices," he added.

IDC expects further gains for the smartphone market in 2011, as smartphone vendors deepen and broaden their offerings.

HTC reaped triple-digit growth for both the fourth quarter of 2010 and for the year, second only to Samsung. Driving its success, IDC said, were its increased brand awareness, market positioning, and a series of devices that have resonated well with users and carriers alike. Following its success in 2010, the company known for being 'quietly brilliant' aims to become a preferred brand for smartphone users in 2011, while leveraging its scalability to drive business in Asia/Pacific and other emerging

markets.

Top-5 Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share (2010) (Units in Millions)
Vendor	Shipped	Share	Shipped	Share	year growth
Nokia	100.3	33.1%	67.7	39.0%	48.2%
RIM	48.8	16.1%	34.5	19.9%	41.4%
Apple	47.5	15.7%	25.1	14.5%	89.2%
Samsung	23	7.6%	5.5	3.2%	318.2%
HTC	21.5	7.1%	8.1	4.7%	165.4%
Others	61.5	20.3%	32.6	18.8%	88.7%
Total	302.6	100.0%	173.5	100.0%	74.4%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, February 7, 2011. Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.