It comes as no surprise that smartphones are ruling the marketplace. RIM’s BlackBerry retains it lead over the iPhone while Android smartphones like the Droid are moving into the smartphone market place.
Smartphone shipments in North America totalled 47.2 million units in
2009, an increase of 27% over the volume seen in 2008, helped by a
strong fourth quarter. This healthy growth is forecast to accelerate to
38% in 2010, bringing total shipments in the region to 65.1 million
units reports Canlysis.
2010, with Apple in second place by operating system (OS) vendor share.
Both vendors will grow their annual shipment volumes in the region, by
21% and 27% respectively.
In 2009, RIM held a 49% market share in North
America, with Apple at 23%, though they will each lose a modest portion
of their share this year as the total market grows at a quicker pace.
RIM will remain strong in the corporate space and will continue to
entice consumers. Apple’s strong performance in the market is set to
continue, with 2010 volumes expected to be helped by a likely mid-year
product update.
Shipments of smartphones running Google’s Android platform are
forecast to see the strongest growth in 2010. In 2009, 4.7 million
Android devices shipped in North America. With new devices from HTC,
Samsung, Motorola and LG, among others, this number will grow in 2010 by
169% to more than 12.3 million units, with considerable growth expected
for several years ahead. 21.7 million Android smart phones are expected
to ship in North America in 2013.
By comparison, Microsoft will have a difficult year, ahead of the
commercial availability of Windows Phone 7 Series, expected shortly
before the holiday season. 'Windows Phone 7 Series represents a major
improvement to the platform that was badly needed from Microsoft.
However, the delay between announcement and expected commercial
availability in Q4 2009 will make this year a tough one. It will impact
shipment volumes in the second and third quarters, as no vendor or
carrier will want a warehouse full of Windows Phone 6.5 devices come the
launch of 7,' said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst, based
in Palo Alto. Windows Phone shipments in North America are expected to
remain almost flat this year, at 4.7 million units - a 7% share of the
market.
Strong growth in the market this year and beyond will be driven by
smart phone vendors delivering cheaper handsets to the market that will
appeal to a wider section of the public. 'We have seen growth in the
smart phone market, until now, driven by, high-end, flagship devices,
but there is now a shift in focus taking place,' commented Tim Shepherd,
Canalys Analyst. 'Many vendors are looking to use Android and other
platforms to lower the cost of smart phones, and open up the market to
new customers on tighter budgets, who previously could not have afforded
to buy a smart phone. The demand is clearly there - more and more
consumers want to browse the Internet on their phones, download
third-party applications to enhance and personalize their devices, and
engage with mobile services such as social networking, e-mail and
navigation. A smart phone is an excellent vehicle for that.'
The increasing mobile data burden on networks, however, is a
challenge that carriers need to take on if these services are to be
enabled for a wider audience. 'Overburdened existing network capacity
has fast become a substantial concern for carriers,' noted Daryl Chiam,
Canalys Senior Analyst. 'With smart phones becoming cheaper, more
customers will want to consume data services over carriers' networks.
Commercial LTE deployments will start to emerge but this is a
longer-term strategy, and with some networks already experiencing
difficulties, carriers will have to tackle this issue head on. Expect to
see more concerted efforts to optimize data transmission where
possible, as well as new data pricing models evolving in 2010.' Vendors,
too, will come under pressure to improve data efficiency. 'RIM has a
lead in this regard,' said Chris Jones. 'BlackBerry devices are highly
efficient in terms of the data traffic they send over carriers'
networks. Other smart phone vendors will need to improve the way their
devices handle data to help ensure that the user experience is not
compromised.'
The Latin American smart phone market, which declined 11% in 2009,
will also return to strong growth this year. Shipments are expected to
increase by 30% to 11.0 million units in 2010. Nokia's strength in the
region ensured that, in 2009, Symbian was the leading smart phone
platform, taking a 42% market share, followed by RIM's BlackBerry
platform with 28%. Brazil and Mexico remained the largest smart phone
markets in the region, accounting for 33% and 19% of shipments
respectively, and this is expected to remain largely unchanged through
2013.
The shipment estimates and forecasts discussed in this release come
from the market-leading Canalys Smart
Phone Analysis services.