According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the fourth quarter of 2012 was a strong one for mobile phone sales, with 482.5 million mobile phones sold. This compared to 473.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 or 1.9% year on year growth.
In the smartphone segment, 219.4 million units or 45.5% of all mobile phone shipments. This was the highest percentage ever attained and underlines the inexorable shift in the mobile market towards smartphones. In fact, smartphone sales grew 36.4% compared with 2011.
Over the full year,  mobile phone sales grew 1.2% to over 1.7 billion units, of which 712.6 million were smartphones.
Samsung and Apple dominated the market with shares of 29% and 22% as shown in the chart below. Â They were followed by Huawei with almost 5% and then SOny an ZTE. Â HTCfell out of the top 5 even as Huawei entered it. Disappointingly for Microsoft, Nokia was nowhere to be seen in the top 5, although hopes are high for a resurgence in 2013.
| Top Five Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q4 2012 (Units in Millions) | |||||
| Vendor | 4Q12 Unit Shipments | 4Q12 Market Share | 4Q11 Unit Shipments | 4Q11 Market Share | Year-over-Year Change |
| 1. Samsung | 63.7 | 29.00% | 36.2 | 22.50% | 76.00% |
| 2. Apple | 47.8 | 21.80% | 37 | 23.00% | 29.20% |
| 3. Huawei | 10.8 | 4.90% | 5.7 | 3.50% | 89.50% |
| 4. Sony | 9.8 | 4.50% | 6.3 | 3.90% | 55.60% |
| 5. ZTE | 9.5 | 4.30% | 6.4 | 4.00% | 48.40% |
| Others | 77.8 | 35.50% | 69.2 | 43.10% | 12.40% |
| Total | 219.4 | 100.00% | 160.8 | 100.00% | 36.40% |
Samsung’s major weapon was the Galaxy S3 and to a lesser extent, the Galaxy Note 2, but Samsung plans to release phones based on Tizen – their own OS in 2013.
Android of course, was the big winner, with all major vendors, save Apple and Nokia selling Android-based smartphones. The silver lining in the IDC report is that Samsung now sells two Windows Phone 8 phones, namely the Odyssey and Focus. Nokia still leads the charge with the top selling Lumia 920 and HTC has the well-regarded HTC Windows Phone 8X.
However, 2013 will be a pivotal year for Microsoft – a year that decides whether Windows Phone 8 smartphones can make a dent in the highly competitive smartphone market. If they cannot, there will be little hope for a Plan B.
Share your thoughts on the shape of the smartphone market and Microsoft’s prospects below.
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