Nokia’s 1Q smartphone shipments demonstrate the firm still has global clout, with Asia Pacific emerging as a key region for the vendor, industry watchers at Canalys say.
The research firm notes Asia Pacific accounted for 53% of Nokia’s total shipments of 24.2 million smartphones during the quarter - enough to beat Apple into second place in the region -, and that the vendor still tops the table in Europe, where it beat RIM.
“It’s worldwide reach…should never be underestimated. [T]he vendor remains number one in 28 countries,” principal analyst Pete Cunningham states, noting that China was particularly productive during 1Q, with shipments in the country up 79% to 8.9 million units.
Nokia’s achievement in Asia Pacific comes as the region became the world’s largest market for smartphones during the period, with combined shipments of 37.3 million units almost double the figure sold in 1Q10. China, India and South Korea drove the region, with triple digit growth in shipments in all three countries.
Google’s Android platform took the global honors in the operating system segment, powered by strong shipments from HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson. However, Cunningham notes Samsung is also gaining traction with its in-house Bada platform, with shipments of 3.5 million units almost a million up on Microsoft’s Windows Phone shipments.
Bada devices sold well in France, UK and Germany, and its success “shows there is still room for multiple operating systems,” Cunningham said.
The research firm estimates up to 600,000 LTE smartphones shipped in the US during 1Q11, the first full calendar quarter of commercial availability.