iPhone market share grew 375% in Q2
Source: Gartner August 2009
Sales of Nokia's (NOK) Symbian smartphones are drifting. Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is gaining on RIM's (RIMM) BlackBerry. Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Mobile is still sinking. And the launch of the Palm (PALM) Pre barely made a ripple in the gobal smartphone market.
Those were the headlines from the smartphone portion of Gartner's 2009 Q2 mobile phone report, which saw smartphone sales grow 27% even as overall mobile phone sales, feeling recessionary pressure, fell 6%.
In this context, Apple was the clear winner. Its iPhone sales, as Gartner counts them, grew more than 500% year to year, and its market share, as we figure it, grew 375%. (See chart below the fold.)
"Apple's expansion into a larger number of countries in the past year has produced a clear effect on sales volumes, as have the recent price adjustments on the 8GB 3G iPhone," according to Gartner's press release. "Apple brought its much-anticipated new device — the iPhone 3G S — to market at the end of the second quarter of 2009, but its full potential will only start to show in the sales figures in the second half of 2009."
Gartner made note of the declining market shares of Symbian and Windows Mobile, but it expressed particular concern about the Palm Pre.
"This device attracted a lot of media attention but showed mixed results at the cash register as sales only reached 205,000 units," said Gartner principal analyst Roberta Cozza. "Palm currently ranks tenth in the smartphone market and Gartner remains concerned about its ability to gain traction outside the US market, where its brand is less strong."
I am not an iPhone fan. Aside from the fact that I am a Windows user and have found Macs to be useless to me, I don't like that the interface of the iPhone is purely a touchpad. I have been using touchscreen smartphones for about 3 years now – since before the iPhone even came out – and those screens go bad quickly from scratches, etc. I like having my HTC Tilt that has navigation buttons outside the touchpad and quick button access to the start menu, internet explorer, test messages, phone call start & end, volume control, and camera. I also love that I have a tilt phone where the keyborad slide out and then tilts up at an angle – so much easier to see that way and use since the key entry isn't in the same place as the screen I'm looking at while typing. I just don't get the mania for the iPhone, I think its mostly that Apple has a very smart marketing department. All those commercials going on about all the neat stuff you can do with an iPhone that I've been able to do with my smart windows mobile phones since before the iPhone existed.
ex ped: Re scratches on touchscreens you have known, Kendra: None on my iPhone, after 16 months of carrying it around in my pocket with keys, knife, Space Pen and spare change. Just saying.
It seems pretty simple from reading this thread. With only 1 or 2 exceptions, anyone who actually ownes and uses an IPhone will have no other phone. If you don't own one, or have never used one, your opinion is worth about a penny to me. And that means you owe me a penny for having to listen to it! I have always had Microsoft PCs. I've never owned a mac, but after I bought the Iphone and saw how Apple takes care of their OSs, I immediatly went out and bought a mac too have never been happier. And BTW, I'm 40….. and have never texted before the Iphone. After just a few days, I can out text my 14 daughter hands down with the Iphone. "Dad wait before you text me anymore for me to respond, you doing it to fast…" I'm 6-2, 200 pounds and have huge fingers!
I own an iPhone and so do many of my over 40 friends. It can be a serious business smartphone. Not only am I posting this via my iPhone, I also use it for Twitter, linkedin, facebook, email, contacts, calendar, audiobooks, GPS navigation etc.
I'm no Apple fanboy but you cannot deny the fact that there really isn't a smartphone that is comparable in features and number of applications at the moment.
Remember when Apple's market value was less than 1% of Microsoft's? That was when MSFT users felt smug and secure in their loyalty to the most trouble-prone operating system on the planet. What a difference a decade makes. Apple's market value is now 70% of MSFT and gaining steadily. Small wonder: Apple is a smarter company and makes everything better than MSFT. In the past ten years, almost every Apple product has been a game changing hit. By comparison, virtually no new MSFT product has gained traction. Apple's iPhone/iPod are surrounding and slowly squeezing out MSFT – particularly with the next generation of business leaders. Small wonder this too: The best and brightest customers are leaving MSFT.
For those of you left behind, there is a strategy to keeping MSFT on top. It goes like this: Have your company set and enforce a policy of no Apple products – none. If you let so much as a single iPhone in the door, MSFT hegemony in your company is doomed: In very little time fellow employees will be screaming for iPhones and then Macs. Its happening everywhere.
iPhone is barely 2 years old and already it commands about 20% of Fortune 100 companies which adopts the iPhone into their enterprise infrastrucuture over the blackberry: http://www.google.com.hk/m/url?cd=6&channel=gp1&ct=res&ei=9C2HSsjcA5GpgAfHj4di&og=gp&oi=blended&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macobserver.com%2Ftmo%2Farticle%2Fapple_20_of_fortune_100_companies_have_ordered_10000_iphones%2F&resnum=6&sa=X&source=gp&uipref=6&usg=AFQjCNG9jmyWpxRWyPyRwrdOEr8CwbU8Eg
People keep repeating this "the iPhone is a toy" mantra, but clearly they have no idea what they are talking about. Yes, there are a lot of fun things you can do with it. But it is also a serious business device.
I use mine every single day at my job as a physician. There is an app that allows me to look up all meds, dosing, adverse reactions etc., and I can input all of a patient's meds to check for interactions. Additionally there is a BMI calculator. And we do electronic prescribing with a web-based system, so it is very easy for me to prescribe with my iPhone. Tell me that's "a toy".
I love my iPhone and wouldn't have anything else.
I love my iPhone 3G, I'm just disappointed with the specs, as far as, RAM, and Processing power. What people don't understand is that, the iPhone is all software. And its a shame that they would trick you into believing that this past June was the first time they saw fit to upgrade the specs to the iPhone. Apple knew that they would bring out better/more features that would require more RAM, and a Faster Processor and they choose not to handle that on their end but make you believe that it wasn't possible to add these "new features" to the older versions of the iPhone. I've jailbroken my phone and I have everything that a 3GS onwer has besides a campass, and the specs upgrade. And thats why they leave features out on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, because the phone would be laggy and ultimately frustrate the user to the point they wouldn't want an iPhone.
I have these 3rd party apps installed on my iPhone:
3GUnrestrictor
HapicPro
PdaNet
Winterboard
Cyrecorder
Backgrounder
and w/ these on top of all the other apps makes me happy to have an iPhone but sad because I just need more RAM and greater Processing Power to enjoy it all and allow it to run nice and smooth. But I'm not going to pay 400.00 dollars for a new iPhone only to have them bring out another one in a year. And it's a shame that I have to jailbreak my iPhone just so I can have:
Background Processes, Tethering, MMS, Change theme of icons and the Background, Have Toggles (WiFi, 3G, etc), Custom SMS Ringtones, Haptic Feedback, and along with all the other things, and functionality, and features it Lacks.
I have been a true Blackberry devotee for years and just purchased the new Iphone3Gs for business. I don't play games or surf internet per your comment. The device syncs "over the air" with my corporate sever and for business, it has more to offer than the Blackberry in terms of productivity.
The iPhone has about 1% of the total cell phone market, bog whoop. The thing is mostly a toy for folks with too much time on their hands, or for people concerned with looking "cool". If I want to surf the net or play games I do it on a computer with a large LCD, not a phone with a tiny screen. The people I know that have an iPhone just play with it, it's a fun gadget and that's all.
I like to look at the share changes in absolute terms. By this measure, Apple is still the big winner, but it makes the picture a little clearer (at least for me):
Market Share Change (Absolute)
Apple 10.5%
HTC 1.9%
RIM 1.4%
Fujitsu -0.3%
Nokia -2.0%
Others -11.2%
Big losers – Windows, Palm
Apple iPhone is a great phone… stratergy to get people pony up the huge price tag compared to other smartphones is not good. Their restrictions of adding of memory or having new features like voice call is just shunning a lot of users including me.
There is a huge premium to pay when getting iPhone, pay more for internet, stuck with ATT and their slow internet.
ATT like Apple nickle and dime customer for every small feature.
I am with sprint and they give simply everything plan so that you dont have to worry getting messaging plans, mobile TV plan or navigation plans everything included. Also you don't have to worry about clicking something in ATT MediaNet and accidentally buying something.
If I buy a phone want to keep for a while and I don't want to pony up more money if my memory need increases or new software features are added.
KennyG,
of all the people you know, no one owns an iPhone??
have you ever left "Minooka", or your house for that matter??
Seriously, that statement proves nothing more than that you are an idiot who pays attention to nothing. I suggest you get out a little more.
There are islands here in Hawaii with total populations of like 10 people, and I bet at least 6 have iPhones.
But hey, no hard feelings. I mean, I don't know anyone who owns a saxophone, but you might.
The iphone rocks!, people don’t notice or realize when comparing that blackberry is sold on all the carriers in US and have different models. Apple iphone is only sold officially on Att. Imagine the market share if they also went to T-Mobile which is a compatible GSM system.
I want an iPhone bad…many features that I'd like to use. Just waiting for Telus to switch to HSPA and then hope like hell they get it. Stuck in a contract.
I know more people with iPhones than I can count. I am in charge of ordering cell phones for my department at work, and almost everyone requested an iPhone. Many of my friends have them too. I would never go back to any other phone. I LOVE my iPhone.
Most of these Smartphones, like Sybiant-based are actually DimPhones, a step above Dumbphones. IPhone is smart and media savvy as is the Pre. Most of RIm offerings are pretty smart, espaically the Storm. Let us then distinguish this way:
Very Smartphone – example IPhone, Pre
Somewhat Smartphone – Most of RIM offerings
DimPhone – Symbiant
DumbPhone – The other 80% of phones sold.
A smart smartphone is both business and media savvy. IPhone and Pre are right there. Android and WinMob 7's will be coming up fast in 2010.
"An iPhone is hardly a smartphone. Do any businesses even use it as a true business function?"
Really? Every business I have seen that used to issue Blackberrys is now issuing the iPhone when it is time to replace.
Whatever. I bought a first gen iPhone, my next phone will not be one. I'm sick of the draconian BS, and being left in the cold on functionality upgrades limited to new hardware. My 3 year old blackberry can voice dial, why can't my pos iphone? No, I won't pony up for a 3gs to get it, it should have been a software upgrade. Apple is clearly trying to con people onto an upgrade treadmill.
It has been been noted elsewhere that in Q2CY08, Apple reduced availability of the original iPhone in advance of the release of the iPhone 3G, and that is largely responsible for the phenomenal percentage gain shown by Apple in Q2CY09.
Just the same, it's great to see Apple making Ballmer eat his words!
My 75 year old Mom has an iPhone. She figured out how to set it up quickly, and flashes it at the senior center all the time ! Now all her grandkids are getting them, having seen her with hers. Too funny.
Sales of iPhone have been rising continous since 2007. Applications for the iPhone have increased exponentially. Yet Apple has been very adept in enhancing the iPhone without tempering its success. iPhone is clearly the leader that will rise to the top of the market in time. Most people have not looked at an iPhone yet, once they do, they would be sold to the iPhone. China Unicom would see hundreds of millions of iPhones when it debuts this year. I anticipate 300 millions+ in its inaugural year, and rising yearly in sales.
I have a love/hate relationship with at&t, but my iPhone is superb. Now if Apple will drop the walled garden approach so that I can get some of my legacy Palm apps on it with StyleTap, I'll be happier.
Palm Pre….Pre to what? Failure?
It's also ugly looking….When will corporations realize that customers care about asthetics as much as functionality…
The iPhone beats them all in every aspect….Who cares about 5 mega pixel cameras and flash and blah blah….People probably don't half the features…..The point is that the iPhone does well what it was designed to do, and the people who have it know that (except the ones reluctant to change)
The guy who only has 1 friend using iPhone, he must be locked up in a slammer somewhere. Look around you, mcdonalds, airports, parks, etc. They're everywhere. I used to feel special when I had my first generation iPhone. But not anymore. It's no longer a gadget, it's an utility.
I'm not surprised.
After all, the iPhone is the only real SMART phone. Endless variety of Apps, simple to use and easily upgraded.
Try to teach your blackberry to use different virtual keys for different applications.
Not-so-smart chiclet clickers.
That's weird KennyG — because I would say 80% of my friends own iphones — here in Washington, D.C. — however they also have blackberries (they are all attorneys, I am not)
wow! I use a nokia phone but my kids use the iphone touch for their backyard zoo games. I guess maybe i look into the iphone. My kids says its great.
You don't know anyone that owns an iPhone? Where is Minooka, IL? I know maybe 30 people or so that own and iPhone. Perhaps is is a generational thing. I don't know many folks over 40 that own one.
Curious about kennyg demographic. I know so many people who have the iPhone including anti-Apple NJ web developer who is going in today to pick up his. I was shocked. He said an anti-Apple IN friend had outfitted his whole family. Me, I don't have a cell phone but do have the iPod touch. It goes with me everywhere. The apps rock.
I feel that its not just the number of units sold that matters… the revenue earned on the units sold is also significant… Apple seems to be a little niche even now… it has that Snob appeal… when you look at the fact that
Does this count the number of units shipped or actually sold? I remember reading about the Russian market for iPhones failing horribly but Apple still 'sold' a lot of units in 2009 to that market even though the distributors in Russia couldn't move them out of stores. I believe the article also said that there were similar problems in other countries as well…
I still wouldn't completely discredit their gain, but I think that (if the share is based on units shipped) we might be seeing a bit of an inflated share for Apple.
There are times where I wish my cell phone carrier would use the iPhone. It seems to be a great piece of equipment.
Can you hear me now?
Way to go Apple! With such a great company you really should expect great results. Here's to call options and long stock positions! $200 a share easily doable by YE.
But the iPhone Display does not get scratches. Only if you treat it really really bad, I mean – really bad