iPhone 3G puts Apple among top 10 phone vendors
updated 03:50 pm EDT, Thu October 30, 2008
Apple iPhone in top ten
Apple's third quarter sales for its only cellphone, the iPhone, have vaulted the company into a top ten list of phone suppliers, ousting BlackBerry maker RIM in the process, research group Strategy Analytics says. A Thursday report said Apple's increase to 6.9 million handsets shipments found Apple, along with Samsung and Sony Ericsson, as one of the only major phone makers on the list to increase its market share during the third quarter of 2008.
Apple held 2.3 percent of the cellphone market in the quarter and jumped from well outside the top ten to sixth place, trailing behind LG (7.6 percent), Motorola (8.4 percent), Sony Ericsson (8.5), Samsung (17.1) and Nokia (38.9). The result is considered impressive considering Apple has only a single product to offer in the market, as well as its entrance into the industry just one and a half years ago.
The iPhone's success is though to have likely cost sales at Nokia, LG and Motorola, whose sales all fell. The research company noted Apple still has a long way to go in order to match its closest rival ahead of it, LG, at 23 million units sold in the third quarter.
Nokia, they noted, is not taking full advantage of the quickly-growing smartphone market in the US by not making all of its high-end devices available stateside. The company instead prefers to launch some models only as unlocked devices and isn't set to release its first touchscreen phone, the 5800 XpressMusic, until 2009 for most areas.
Overall handset sales, which reached about 303 million during the third quarter, represented a five percent gain over the same time period last year, while growth was at a five-year low.
Top 10
10/30, 04:49pm reply
Top ten based on the sold units, how about based on revenue?
RIM $2,5 billion, Motorola made $3.1 billion revenue on its phones last quarter, Nokia $8,4 billion revenue on 117.8 million mobile devices sold.
Apple probably had $4,- billion revenue on 6,9 million iPhone's (real dollars, not GAAP). Very much near the top if you ask me.
Peter Bonte
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Top 3 based on revenue
10/30, 05:41pm reply
Apple disclosed during the recent financial call that they were third behind Nokia and Samsung, just ahead of Sony Ericsson.
Guest
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tx
10/30, 05:59pm reply
Sony Ericsson had $3.78bn revenue (and made a loss on it) so that about confirms the $4bn i previously mentioned. Good work Apple!
Peter Bonte
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;)
10/30, 11:43pm reply
Why are you comparing only the last quarter when apple had their biggest launch ever? Seems a little biased no? haha. You fanboys are the best.
luckyday
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:/
10/31, 04:40am reply
You don't agree that this is a major achievement for Apple or any other company for that matter?
The iPhone is more than a year on the market, the last quarter and the new model is showing us the growth potential for the next few years and its looking good. Prices and revenue will drop but once the iPhone is $0 with a contract it will tenfold in sales. This last quarter is an indicator that the iPhone will surpass the iPod in a big way.
Peter Bonte
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revenue
10/31, 08:07am reply
But you're making the assumption that Motorola's, Samsungs, etc.'s revenue is NOT based on subscribing the cost over a period of months. Are you sure they are not?
And what does revenue have to do with market share? It just shows Apple can make a boatload of money with the phones. Marketshare is about penetration, not income.
testudo
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ok
10/31, 09:28am reply
It isn't easy to find all the details, Nokia's figures are real sales but the others i'm not sure. But if they used GAAP then the previous better results would have boosted last quarter figures because revenue is down. Motorola lost $400 mln last quarter, currently having a profitable business is preferred over big unit numbers with low to no profit. I think we'll see at least 1 big telecom company go down the next few years and its not going to be Apple
Peter Bonte
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U need a good memory
10/31, 01:30pm reply
I have been a member of a number of Apple-centric sites for over 8 years and it is remarkable how there are folks who STILL keep insisting that Apple is not doing well, will fail etc. It is the same people who thought the iMac, iPod, iPhone -- would ALL fail and that Apple would be toast. Most of these "tragedies" date from about 2001. Yet, they still try to seek out some example of Apple not doing well. The facts of course are diametrically opposite.
Remarkable, isn't it?
rjwill246
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