Apple overtakes Motorola and Sony Ericsson in sales
11 Feb 2011
According to a Gartner report Apple was placed ahead of popular mobile phone manufacturers like Sony Ericsson and Motorola in terms of sales in 2010.
Analysts say, though such developments are routine, the point that needs to be noted is that Sony Ericsson and Motorola each had at least a dozen cell phones released last year, but Apple had only two actively selling models - the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.
The company sold 46.6 million units of its smartphone in 2010 which was close to double the sales from the prior year. Analysts say such progress is suggested largely due to the newer models selling in more countries and the end of exclusivity deals (like AT&T's in US).
The pecking order in mobile sales is Nokia, Samsung, LG, RIM and Apple – as per Gartner's reports.
However, that may be the best news for the company today, as analysts suggest it could become the biggest firm in the world by next year; beating current numero uno Exxon, an oil company.
Nokia Corp's share of the global handset market, however, fell last year even as global handset sales soared, led by smartphones based on Google Inc's Android platform, according to research firm Gartner.