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Samsung tops Apple for 2011, as overall sales slow

  • Samsung and Apple vie for handset supremacy
  • Android tops out iOS for 2011
  • Android beats Apple but not the way they want
Written by Adam Wajnberg
22/12/2011

Samsung has edged out Apple as top mobile manufacturer, with Google’s Android in turn taking out the top spot for operating systems, according to the 3rd Quarter ANZ Quarterly Mobile Devices Tracker from consultancy IDC.

Smartphones now make up 65% of the market according to the report, resulting in higher cash flow even as 17% fewer handsets shipped from Quarter 2. Android currently operates on 49% of smartphones, with Apple’s iOS operating on 36%. The remainder of the market is a battle for relevancy between Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry OS, Nokia’s moribund Symbian and a quietly improving Windows Mobile.

These numbers don’t tell the full story. Apple still manufactures pretty much the one phone (albeit different models), and the content store behind that phone still drives in an enormous amount of revenue. Android, on the other hand, still has a problem translating its ubiquity into profit. Samsung’s numbers are padded by sales of its featurephones and budget Android handsets. The iPhone still outsells Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S II by a wide margin, and the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will further dilute the impact any one handset can have against Apple’s juggernaut.

Samsung and Apple’s marketplace battles echo their ongoing courtroom dramas, as Apple continues to seek injunctions against Samsung selling the Galaxy Tab, which Apple claims too closely resembles their iPad. Apple recently lost their Australian battle, and Samsung may be in for a treat this Christmas when they will finally have a chance to take advantage of pent up demand for their powerful tablet. It is worth remembering how closely integrated the top companies are; Google provides integral apps for iOS, and Samsung provides many hardware components.

Q4 will prove interesting. Apple products will no doubt prove popular as Christmas gifts, and may continue in their role as gateway gizmos to the rest of the Apple ecosystem. Still, some fans who have stalled on upgrading from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S may be holding out for an anticipated new release in early 2011.

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