Smartphone sales beat feature phone growth in 2Q

The global smartphone sales rose 46.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 to 225 million units, surpassing feature phone sales for the first time.

Samsung maintained its number one position in the smartphone market with a 31.7 per cent market share, while Apple with a 14.2 per cent came in second, according to a study by research and analysis firm Gartner.

Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe exhibited the highest smartphone growth rates of 74.1 per cent, 55.7 per cent and 31.6 per cent respectively, as smartphone sales grew in all regions.

''Smartphones accounted for 51.8 per cent of mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013, resulting in smartphone sales surpassing feature phone sales for the first time,'' said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.

The sales of feature phones to end users totaled 210 million units and declined 21 per cent year-over-year. The global mobile phone sales totalled 435 million units in the second quarter of 2013, a 3.6 per cent rise from the same period last year, according to the study.

Samsung maintained the leading position in the global smartphone market, as its share of smartphone sales reached 31.7 per cent, up from 29.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2012.

Apple's smartphone sales reached 32 million units in the second quarter of 2013, up 10.2 per cent from a year ago.

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Microsoft took over BlackBerry for the first time, taking the third spot with 3.3 per cent market share in the second quarter of 2013.

''While Microsoft has managed to increase share and volume in the quarter, Microsoft should continue to focus on growing interest from application developers to help grow its appeal among users,'' said Gupta. Android continued to increase its lead, garnering 79 per cent of the market in the second quarter.

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Microsoft overtook BlackBerry for the first time, taking the third position with a 3.3-per cent market share in the second quarter of 2013.

''While Microsoft has managed to increase share and volume in the quarter, Microsoft should continue to focus on growing interest from application developers to help grow its appeal among users,'' said Gupta. Android continued to increase its lead, garnering 79 per cent of the market in the second quarter.

Samsung remained in the No1 position in the overall mobile phone market, with sales to end users growing 19 per cent in the second quarter of 2013.

''We see demand in the premium smartphone market come mainly from the lower end of this segment in the $400-and-below ASP mark. It will be critical for Samsung to step up its game in the mid-tier and also be more aggressive in emerging markets. Innovation cannot be limited to the high end,'' said Gupta.

Slowing demand of feature phone sales across many markets worldwide, and fierce competition in the smartphone segment, affected Nokia's mobile phone sales in the second quarter.

Nokia's mobile phone sales totaled 61 million units, down from 83 million units a year ago.

Nokia's Lumia sales grew 112.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 thanks to its expanded Lumia portfolio, which now include Lumia 520 and Lumia 720.

''With the recent announcement of the Lumia 1020, Nokia has built a wide portfolio of devices at multiple price points, which should boost Lumia sales in the second half of 2013,'' said Gupta.

''However, Nokia is facing tough competition from Android devices, especially from regional and Chinese manufacturers which are more aggressive in terms of price points,'' added.

While sales continued to grow, the company faced a significant drop in the ASP of its smartphones.

Despite the iPhone 5 being the most popular model, its ASP declined to the lowest figure registered by Apple since the iPhone's launch in 2007.

The ASP reduction is due to strong sales of the iPhone 4, which is sold at a strongly discounted price. ''While Apple's ASP demonstrates the need for a new flagship model, it is risky for Apple to introduce a new lower-priced model too,'' said Gupta.

Lenovo's mobile phone sales grew 60.6 per cent to reach 11 million units in the second quarter of 2013. Lenovo's quarter performance was bolstered by smartphone sales. Its smartphone sales grew 144 per cent year-over-year and helped it rise to the No 4 spot in the worldwide smartphone market for the first time.

Lenovo continues to rely heavily on its home market in China, which represents more than 95 percent of its sales. It remains challenging for Lenovo to expand outside China as it has to strengthen its direct channel as well as its relationships with communications service providers.