Samsung Takes Top Spot, Beating Out Apple as #1 Smartphone Manufacturer
posted Sunday Oct 30, 2011 by Nicholas DiMeo
Samsung's last quarter produced results so successful that it has allowed them to beat out Apple for the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. This adds a new level of interest into their legal issues, among them the distribution of the Galaxy Tab in Germany and other places.
Here's the numbers that gave Samsung the much-deserved top spot. Reports are in that last quarter, Samsung shipped 27.8 million devices, which makes up 23.8% of the smartphone market. Apple came in second last quarter, shipping only 17.1 million, which is 14.6% of the market. In third was Nokia, who stayed in third place, but that should change once numbers come in about their recently launched Lumia.
Unfortunately, we have to be fair here. Samsung launched numerous devices in the last quarter, where Apple's shiny yet mediocre iPhone 4S launched this month. Numbers are sure to go up for Apple, as sources are reporting record-breaking numbers, which may end up with them being #1 at the end of the year. However, with the new line of Galaxy devices continuing to be marketed Samsung should see steady sales through the holiday season.
It should be noted here that these are strictly smartphone numbers. Nokia still leads the industry for total mobile devices overall, keeping 27.3% of the whole market.
For Samsung, the ongoing legal battles with Apple may prevent them from maintaining that top spot. They have both filed patent infringement lawsuits against each other, which are still happening in cities worldwide. Can they overcome the big, white, shiny mothership? We'll see after the golden quarter.