IDC Confirms Apple's Smartphone Crown as Smartphone Shipments Exceed 100 Million

From X-bit Labs: International Data Corp. (IDC), one of the world's most respected market research firm, this week confirmed that Apple became the world's largest supplier of smartphones in the second quarter of 2011. Indirectly, IDC confirmed that Google Android officially became the world's most popular operating system (OS) for advanced handsets.

Different vendors shipped 106.5 million smartphone units in Q2 2011 compared to 64.4 million units in the second quarter of 2010. The 65.4% growth was on par with IDC's forecast of 67.3% for the quarter and below the 84.0% year-over-year growth in Q1 2011. During the second quarter of 2011 Apple, the company which entered the market just four years ago, became the largest maker of smartphones.

"The smartphone market crowned a new leader in Q2 2011, and its name is Apple. Ever since the first iPhone launched in 2007, Apple has made market-setting strides in hardware, software, and channel development to grab mindshare and market share. Demand has been so strong that even models that have been out for one or two years are still being sought out. With an expected refresh later this year, volumes are set to reach higher levels," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's mobile phone technology and trends team.

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.

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