Another report confirms Apple as world's top smartphone vendor
In case there were any doubts, a second research firm has reported that Apple is the leading smartphone vendor worldwide.
Just last week, Strategy Analytics published a report noting that the Cupertino, Calif.-based enterprise had secured approximately 20.3 percent of the global smartphone market share during the second quarter.
Today, IDC published the same finding with slightly different numbers, pegging Apple in the number one spot with 19.1 percent of the 106.5 million smartphones shipped last quarter.
Here's why IDC thinks that Apple has risen to the top of the leader board:
Apple's success can be directly attributed to its distribution (more than 200 carriers in more than 200 countries), increased manufacturing capacity, and solid demand within emerging and developed markets from both consumers and business users. Apple's emergence as the number one smartphone vendor worldwide comes at a time when former worldwide leader Nokia is in the midst of a major transition. However, Apple has yet to top Nokia's single-quarter volume record of 28.1 million units. But given Apple's momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when.
As for Apple's competitors, Samsung is hot on Apple's track with 16.2 percent. Nokia isn't too far behind with 15.7 percent. It slips a bit farther down with Research in Motion at 11.6 percent, and HTC rounds out the top five with 11.7 percent of the international vendor market share.
Domestically, comScore just released its latest survey of the U.S. mobile market share. Apple trails Android in the top smartphone platform category but still manages to hold on to second place. It came in fourth for the top mobile OEMs.
None of these numbers should be considered disappointments considering Apple hasn't had an actual new smartphone model in over a year, and the next version of iOS won't even be available until this fall.
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