Converged mobile device market continues to surge ahead

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The worldwide converged mobile device or smartphone market showed no signs of slowing down during the first quarter of 2006, recording a new record in quarterly shipments.According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, worldwide converged mobile device shipments totalled 18.9 million units in Q1 2006, an increase of 7.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005 and 67.8 percent compared to the same quarter one year ago.“In most mature markets, the first quarter of the new year is usually characterized by a sequential decrease in shipments. However, as a market with more growth on the way, the converged mobile device market was able to post sequential growth as well as a sizable year-over-year gain,” said Ramon Llamas, research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Markets team.“The worldwide market has broadened in terms of the number of vendors who have entered into this space, and deepened as far as the kinds of devices coming out for consumers, enterprise users, and fans of multimedia. The lure of new products combined with heightened competition among the vendors, should continue to drive the smartphone market to new heights.”“Continuous upgrades to mobile operating systems have given device manufacturers more capable platforms upon which to create devices,” says Ryan Reith, research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Tracker.“For example, Nokia set the bar by launching two new lines of devices for the converged market, the Eseries and the Nseries, aimed at two different end-user markets. These lines have plenty of room to grow and offer devices in the high, mid, and lower levels of the converged mobile device space, which should add pressure on other device manufacturers to follow suit in 2006.”
Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide Converged Mobile Devices market Q1 2006
Vendor
1Q06 shipments, millions
1Q06 market share
1Q05 shipments, millions
1Q05 market share
1Q06/1Q05, growth
Nokia
8.16
43.20 %
5.45
48.40 %
49.90 %
Panasonic
1.89
10.00 %
1.145
10.20 %
65.10 %
NEC
1.79
9.50 %
1.14
10.10 %
57.00 %
Research in Motion
1.45
7.70 %
0.78
6.90 %
85.70 %
Sharp
1.07
5.70 %
0
0.00 %
0.00 %
Others
4.52
23.90 %
2.74
24.40 %
64.70 %
Total
18.88
100.00 %
11.25
100.00 %
67.80 % Source: IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, June 7, 2006
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