We know it's been coming for some time, but there is always something sad about seeing once-mighty companies slip down the popularity list.
That happened recently with Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK). Gartner Inc. reported this month that Nokia slipped from No. 3 in smartphone sales in the second quarter to No. 7 in the third.
Interestingly, BlackBerry (Nasdaq: RIMM; Toronto: RIM) -- another phone maker that has had its share of troubles in the last several quarters -- replaced Nokia at No. 3, with HTC not far behind. But these rankings may be short lived. "Both HTC and RIM have seen their sales declining in past few quarters, and the challenges might prevent them from holding on to their current rankings in coming quarters," Anshul Gupta, a principal research analyst at Gartner, said in a press release.
Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users dropped 3.1 percent from a year earlier, to nearly 428 million units in the third quarter, according to Gartner. Smartphone sales rose 46.9 percent and accounted for 39.6 percent of total mobile phone sales.
Obviously, the fight for first and second place is clearly delineated by Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC). "Both vendors together controlled 46.5 percent of [the] smartphone market leaving a handful of vendors fighting over a distant third spot," Gupta said.
According to Gartner, Samsung's mobile phones sales climbed 18.6 percent from a year earlir to almost 98 million units, with its Galaxy phones winning the global battle for marketshare. Apple sold 55 million smartphones in the third quarter, taking a 32.5 percent global share.
Nokia's mobile phone sales fell 21.9 percent from the second quarter, but overall sales of 82.3 million were better than Gartner's early estimate and were driven largely by increased sales of the Asha full-touch line, Gartner said.
As we all know, these rankings are a bit of a juggling game from quarter to quarter. The most innovative company will dominate the market, at least until another cool thing comes out.
Along those lines, Samsung is hoping to keep its competitive edge by looking at different form factors. Its latest concept appears to be the mass production of flexible mobile-device screens, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story (subscription required). The company's Samsung Display Co. is "in the last phase of development of so-called flexible displays for mobile devices, which are expected to be released in the first half of next year," according to the WSJ, which cited an unnamed source. The idea is that these plastic displays will help make mobile devices unbreakable, lighter, and bendable.
It's not clear when the displays will be available for commercial use, the WSJ said, and it's not clear to me if that will be enough of an innovation for Samsung to hold its lead. If nothing else, it will be fun to watch what other ideas come out as the smartphone market evolves and players rise and fall on the popularity scales.
I am hearing good things about the new Nokia 920. Battery life is good, lightweight, and the WP8 integration is really looking good. It has also been selling well in NY. I guess we will see next quarter just how well it did.
Nice Susan, I think it will take just a bit of time before all the apps are there for windows phone. I know quite a couple of users are considering buying windows phone thanks to the slick user interface.
What I meant to say to Shelly is that now every time Apple launches an iPhone X, or iPad X it has to be 100% innovation, unless it's a totally different product. I believe the iPhone 5 has had good adds this time, the size is something people are loving, for example.
>>There is a time for revolutionary innovation, and there is a time for improving those innovations<<
@Susan, i'm not sure how add-ons could be done unless you re-strategise. Even Apple started with PC products now its iPhone and iPad ( mini computer) brands presently are most valued in world markets. Also be mindful that, everything in life has its time of season, well may be it's Apple moments. Who knows? Nevertheless, for OEMs unless they have innovative breakthroughs and a bit of luck as well as to continously be on the front foot of diversification within that business. Even IBM seems to be doing OK in mobile access sector now.
I haven't read much on how innovative the Nokia phones are...did they make any headway relative to older models? I think Apple and Samsung are at the "change for change's sake" point, at least with the iPhone 5. From what I can tell, the improvements are incremental while the data plan is going to cost major bucks. I've been test-driving phones, and I actually like the Samsung offerings better. An unbreakable screen has a lot of upside, but I expect they will be very expensive at least initially.
A new report shows that most of the worrisome issues that the supply chain industry has been dealing with for years are not new, but there are some new concerns that need answers. Here’s a look at what keeps supply chain professionals up at night.
When it comes to shipping supplies from China to Europe, trains might be the most cost-effective way companies have available to them. DHL is looking to jump on that bandwagon.
For many dealing with the enormous task of tracking,
reporting, and resolving issues associated with
potential counterfeit parts, there is a collective
hope that 2013 will bring clearer guidance on what
needs to be done by whom and when.
A necessary foundation for moving efficiently at real-time speed, supply chain analytics is still very much at the beginning stages of development at many companies.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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