Nokia is the largest company in Finland as well as the number one mobile device maker in Western Europe for many years. But Nokia must learn to say number No. 2, since it slipped to that spot on IDC’s list of quarterly mobile phone shipments, announced this morning by the analyst firm. The No. 1 post now belongs to rival Samsung, while Apple, RIM and HTC posted strong increases of their own.
Nokia shipped 1.4 million fewer phones in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same quarter a year earlier. It was the only device manufacturer in the top five to ship fewer phones year over year. The slip caused the company’s first quarter market share to drop 10 percent year over year, declining from 32.7 percent to 29.7 percent.
How the rest of the filed fared:
Top Western European Mobile Phone Vendors, Total Shipments and Market Share, 1Q11 (Smartphones and Feature Phones Combined) (Units in Millions)
| Vendor | 1Q11 Unit Shipments | 1Q11 Market Share | 1Q10 Unit Shipments | 1Q10 Market Share | 1Q11/1Q10 Change |
| 1. Samsung | 13.2 | 29.3% | 12.5 | 29.1% | 5% |
| 2. Nokia | 12.6 | 27.9% | 14.0 | 32.7% | -10% |
| 3. Apple | 4.4 | 9.8% | 3.0 | 6.9% | 49% |
| 4. Research in Motion | 3.5 | 7.8% | 2.4 | 5.5% | 48% |
| 5. HTC | 3.5 | 7.8% | 0.9 | 2.2% | 271% |
| Others | 7.8 | 17.4% | 10.1 | 23.6% | -22% |
| Total | 45.0 | 100% | 42.9 | 100% | 5% |
Source: IDC European Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, May 2011
Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
Francisco Jeronimo, European mobile devices research manager, IDC, praised Samsung move to touchscreen technology and Google’s Android Operating System.
Samsung was the one understanding the trends first and moving faster. Samsung understood early the trend on touchscreen devices and became the market leader on feature-phones by providing a full range of devices at very competitive prices. On smartphones, Samsung has quickly moved to Android as well as investing in its own platform, Bada. Flexibility and being able to address all market segments have contributed to Samsung’s ability to quickly adjust to the market trends. Apple, on the other hand, coming from nowhere in the mobile phone business, capitalized on its strong brand and user-experience innovation. It took years for competitors to come up with devices that could challenge consumers’ preference for the iPhone.”
Nokia fared poorer still in the smartphone-specific sales battle. Its marketshare dropped 15 percent, from 40.6 percent in Q1 2010 to 19.6 this last quarter. Apple led the field and all other device makers saw tremendous growth.
Top Western European Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments and Market Share, 1Q11 (Smartphones Only)(Units in Millions)
| Vendor | 1Q11 Unit Shipments | 1Q11 Market Share | 1Q10 Unit Shipments | 1Q10 Market Share | 1Q11/1Q10 Change |
| 1. Apple | 4.4 | 20.8% | 3.0 | 24.6% | 49% |
| 2. Nokia | 4.2 | 19.6% | 4.9 | 40.6% | -15% |
| 3. Research in Motion | 3.5 | 16.5% | 2.4 | 19.6% | 48% |
| 4. HTC | 3.5 | 16.5% | 0.9 | 7.8% | 271% |
| 5. Samsung | 2.6 | 12.1% | 0.3 | 2.5% | 744% |
| Others | 3.0 | 14.5% | 0.6 | 4.9% | 414% |
| Total | 21.2 | 100% | 12.1 | 100% | 76% |
Source: IDC European Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, May 2011
Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
