Mobile phone recovery continues with nearly 22% growth in 1Q10, says IDC Tweet

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 21.7% in the first quarter of 2010, a strong rebound from the market contraction in the first quarter of 2009. Growth was fueled by increased demand for converged mobile devices, more commonly known as smartphones, and the global economic recovery. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 242.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009.

Growing demand for smartphones also helped Research In Motion (RIM) move into the top-5 vendor rankings for the first time. RIM, which replaced Motorola in the top-5, tied Sony Ericsson for the number 4 position in IDC's 1Q10 vendor rankings. RIM shipped 10.6 million units in the first quarter while Motorola, which had been a top-5 vendor since the inception of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker in 2004, shipped 8.5 million units. Motorola, the number 2 overall vendor in 2004, registered a fifth-place finish last year by virtue of its overall strength in the lower-growth traditional mobile phone category. Motorola has steadily lost share since 2004 when the market started its shift toward higher-end feature phones and smartphones. The ongoing shift has given rise to converged mobile device vendors such as RIM and Apple.

"The entrance of RIM into the top-5 underscores the sustained smartphone growth trend that is driving the global mobile phone market recovery," noted Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. "This is also the first time a vendor has dropped out of the top 5 since the second quarter of 2005, when Sony Ericsson grabbed the number 5 spot from BenQ Siemens."

"That the mobile phone market has rebounded by double digits year over year in a post-holiday quarter is definitely good news for the industry," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "Whereas last year we saw much uncertainty around demand and overall reluctance to introduce new devices, vendors have been very vocal about their intentions this year, with some even launching new devices in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, the continued emphasis on converged mobile devices points to greater revenue generation and profitability opportunities for vendors, which is a welcome change compared to the same quarter a year ago."

Labels: