Samsung tops mobile sales, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry plummet

Rick

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According to figures by research firm Gartner, Samsung once again holds the top spot when it comes to global sales of mobile phones. The Korean-based company managed to bump Nokia from its perch after sales from the former king of handsets dipped more than 3 percent in Q1 2012. 

Samsung accounted for 20.7 percent of all mobile phones sold while Nokia bottomed out at 19.8 percent. Apple slipped in under the two with 7.9 percent. 

Samsung also holds the crown for Android handsets, accounting for 40 percent of all mobile phone sales within the Android ecosystem. The company's closest competitor accounted for less than 10 percent. 

Android shipped on 56 percent of all mobile phone sold while Apple's iOS trailed with 22.9 percent of the market. Those figures make Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry OS seem downright exotic with only 1.9 percent and 6.9 percent of the market, respectively.

Although global sales of handsets were down by 2 percent to 419 million units total, Microsoft and RIM a disproportionate beating. Despite WP7's generally warm reception by Techspot readers and critics, it seems Microsoft just can't gain traction. WP7 saw yet another decline in Q1 2012, but this time by a substantial 27 percent. Meanwhile, sales by RIM also tumbled by a whopping 47 percent. 

Don't count Nokia, Microsoft and RIM out just yet though. It is important to note that Q1 sales do not include the Lumia 900, a well-liked, high-profile WP7 handset which is expected to boost sales. RIM has also announced it is refreshing its line-up with new hardware and a brand new operating system in an effort to regain its relevance in the mobile market.

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Microsoft strategy has been let someone else create a market, then enter market with lower cost product and slowly take over the market. I'm not sure this strategy is going to work with phones.
 
Is WP7 down or is Windows Mobile down? I have a feeling that Microsoft's total market is down but WP7 is on the increase.
 
Is WP7 down or is Windows Mobile down? I have a feeling that Microsoft's total market is down but WP7 is on the increase.
The source material says "Windows Phone" which is different than "Windows Mobile".

Even if Windows Mobile was counted, you'd be hard pressed to find a new phone which ships with Windows Mobile 6.x. It certainly wouldn't count for any appreciable sales.

Collectively, Windows Phone and Mobile was hovering around 6-7% last year, I believe. So even if you do lump together Mobile and Phone with the assumption Mobile is bleeding users, it doesn't look too good.
 
I think Microsoft hurt itself the most by limiting the hardware manufacturers could use.
ie: core count.
 
The article and title are completely misleading. Windows Phone 7 has not plummeted. How could it even plummet to 1.9% when it started out at ZERO to begin with!? Some kind of reverse plummet, perhaps?

The fact is that Windows Phone has been on the rise, albeit a very slow rise. It's estimated to be around 3-4%
http://wmpoweruser.com/kantar-windo...arkets-may-have-overtaken-blackberry-in-usa/\
Is WP7 down or is Windows Mobile down? I have a feeling that Microsoft's total market is down but WP7 is on the increase.
The source material says "Windows Phone" which is different than "Windows Mobile".
No, the source says "Microsoft software", ya nub.
 
The article and title are completely misleading. Windows Phone 7 has not plummeted. How could it even plummet to 1.9% when it started out at ZERO to begin with!? Some kind of reverse plummet, perhaps?

The fact is that Windows Phone has been on the rise, albeit a very slow rise. It's estimated to be around 3-4%
http://wmpoweruser.com/kantar-windo...arkets-may-have-overtaken-blackberry-in-usa/\

No, the source says "Microsoft software", ya nub.

Okay, first... The article you linked shows numbers from Kantar WorldPanel (I.e. NOT Gartner) and in fact shows different data all together -- not sales data but sustained market share. Not only that, but it only shows that data for seven select "major" markets. Apples and oranges, Tekkaraiden.

In fact, the same site has the survey from Gartner covered too and the numbers jibe: http://wmpoweruser.com/latest-gartner-numbers-for-q1-2012-reveals-few-surprises/

If you want to split hairs, the *same* site you linked also says:

"Total Windows Phone and smartphone sales have remained flat from Q4 2011 to Q1 2012, with 2.7590 million handsets sold in the holiday season, and 2.7125 million handsets sold in Q1 2012. Market share numbers remained static at 1.9%."
Gartner's chart shows "Microsoft" with exactly 2.7125 million units sold during Q1 2012 -- the same number wmpoweruser refers to as "Windows Phone". In Q1 of last year (again, according to Gartner's data), "Microsoft" sold 27% more phones; hence, Windows Phone suffered according to your own source of info.

The article and title are completely misleading. Windows Phone 7 has not plummeted.
Sales are down and that's the point, as said in the title and said in data. Total sustained market share might be up over a given period of time, but not sales. This is about sales.

How could it even plummet to 1.9% when it started out at ZERO to begin with!?
WP7 did not have 0% market share or have 0 sales prior to Q1 2012. WP7 had already been out for some time. I'm not sure what your point is here.
 
Edit:

I think generally people have 'herd' mentality, so if someone you know/trust say something is good, they usually will prefer it over something unknown, hence, WP being in a disadvantageous position, despite it being a much better OS compared to the likes of Android. Anyway, as things stands, I think it will take about 2/3 years of sustained effort from MS and its partners to do 'right things' on the technical side of things as well as marketing.
 
Edit:

I think generally people have 'herd' mentality, so if someone you know/trust say something is good, they usually will prefer it over something unknown, hence, WP being in a disadvantageous position, despite it being a much better OS compared to the likes of Android. Anyway, as things stands, I think it will take about 2/3 years of sustained effort from MS and its partners to do 'right things' on the technical side of things as well as marketing.

Being an owner of a Windows Phone handset, I can tell you that my hopes and complaints are probably the same of many others. Update the OS's features and quickly. That and please tell the world that at least some of us will get to upgrade to Windows 8 when it comes out or that you won't simply drop Windows Phone 7 from the picture a year from now like rumors state.
 
@Jibberish
Absolutely true, IF MS doesn't upgrade at least 'higher end' WP phones of today to WP8, it will be as if 'they've shot themselves in the head' IMHO.
 
iPhone5 sells two million units in the first 24 hours. Windows7 could only manage not much more in three months when it was reasonably hot. Windows8 is not yet out but it's going to compete on the same terms; and loose. Microsoft got rich jacking it's partners who shipped the hardware on peanuts margin whist they got dollars of licensing per unit for zero effort per additional unit. That's a parasitical model which only works if the host needs the parasite for some other reason (needed to run office). The parasite keeps Incompatible products unattrsctive so controls the pc market.

Samsung has broken out of that loop. iPhone made the market (Internet phone appliance with app store) and Samsung is entering it at a lower price point. Anyone trying to compete with a parasite sucking their margin and life blood is not going to thrive; as the parasite is not able to block competitors from entering the market as no one runs office on their phone.

Still is fun to watch the old iPhone funeral stuff when window7 phone came out. I so hope they do it again for windows8 release.
 
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