Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end-users reached almost 428 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 3.1-percent decline from the third quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc.
Smartphone sales accounted for 39.6 per cent of total mobile phone sales, as smartphone sales increased 46.9 per cent from the third quarter of 2011.
While the mobile phone market declined year-on-year, Gartner analysts said there were positive signs for the industry during the third quarter.
"After two consecutive quarters of decline in mobile phone sales, demand has improved in both mature and emerging markets as sales increased sequentially," said Anshul Gupta, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner. “In China, sales of mobile phones grew driven by sales of smartphones, while demand of feature phones remained weak. In mature markets, we finally saw replacement sales pick up with the launch of new devices in the quarter.”
Smartphones continued to fuel sales of mobile phones worldwide with sales rising to 169.2 million units in the third quarter of 2012. The smartphone market was dominated by Apple and Samsung.
“Both vendors together controlled 46.5 per cent of smartphone market, leaving a handful of vendors fighting over a distant third spot,” said Gupta.
