June 2011
Samsung Electronics will become the world's largest smartphone maker this quarter, overtaking struggling Nokia which has lead the market since 1996, Nomura has said.
In the next quarter the anaysts see Apple also overtaking Nokia, pushing the Finnish company to third in the rankings.
"Nokia looks set to relinquish its smartphone crown to Samsung and Apple," Nomura analysts said in a research note. "Further emphasising the shift in power to Asia is our forecast for HTC to almost match Nokia during 2012."
Research firms Gartner and Canalys both said they saw Nokia - which created the smartphone market with its 1996 launch of the Communicator model - losing smartphone volume leadership later this year.
"If Nokia's new phones are not well received in the third quarter and (with) the Galaxy S2 ramping up, Samsung might overtake them and become the smartphone leader in Q3," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.
Nokia has lost initiative in the smartphone market to Apple's iPhone and Google Inc's Android devices, and at the lower end to more nimble Asian rivals.
Overall, Nokia still makes more mobile phones than Samsung due to its strong position in basic mobile phones and its wider distribution network in emerging countries.
The company is switching to Microsoft's software from its own Symbian platform as part of an overhaul of its phone business set out in February by new Chief Executive Stephen Elop.
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Are Location-Based Shopping Apps Catching On?
MARCH 2011
Shopkick says yes
Shopkick, the widely publicized location-based shopping app that has partnered with retailers such as American Eagle, Macy’s, Sports Authority and Target, has sought to get consumers on board with location-based shopping services. The app now boasts over 1 million active users, according to information released by the company in March 2011.
Relatively few US internet users have taken up social location-sharing services like foursquare and Gowalla. According to September 2010 research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, just 4% of online Americans used such services. But in the broader realm of location-aware mobile services, which includes GPS navigation, location-based weather alerts, store locators and similar tools, usage is much higher. According to a December 2010 Microsoft survey, 50% of people in the US with location-aware mobile devices used location-based services like these. And among that group, a third used location-based services for shopping or coupons.
Retailers surveyed by RIS News and IHL Group in November 2010 were considering getting in on the location-based game in one form or another: 24% were thinking about partnering with shopkick or a similar service over the next two years, while 43% planned to join up with a service like foursquare.
According to shopkick data on its users, the app may be a better bet for many retailers than check-in apps with a more social core. Not only are mobile users more likely to use a location-aware shopping app than a social location-sharing service, but the demographics of shopkick may also be more attractive. shopkick users are 55% female, vs. the overwhelmingly male user base of location-sharing services, and the age breakdown is less skewed toward younger users.
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Who Will Win the Android vs. iPhone Race?
JANUARY 2011
Google’s mobile OS will be on top by year-end 2012
The iPhone may have captured the hearts and minds of many tech-savvy early smartphone adopters—not to mention marketers—with its sleek design, multitouch interface and available apps. But as Android has rolled out to more and more handsets, its popularity has surged and the loyalty of its users has increased to match that of iPhone owners. And in a few years the Android installed base will do the same.
eMarketer estimates that after exploding from just 6% of the US smartphone market in 2009 to 24% in 2010, Android will continue to gain share through 2012, when 31% of all smartphone users will own a device running the Google OS. That same year Apple’s share of the market will hold steady at 30%, up only slightly from 2009.
“The open-source Android OS requires no licensing fee and allows handset manufacturers and wireless carriers considerable latitude to customize the user interface according to their desired specifications,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer principal analyst and author of a forthcoming report on mobile devices. “With a growing roster of manufacturer and carrier partners in every major market and market segment, scale for Android is coming quickly in terms of device, market share, apps and ad revenues.”
Market share figures from several research firms show just how fast that scale has come. Between 2009 and 2010, Android grabbed a significant slice of the pie, mostly at the expense of Research In Motion and other non-Apple handsets.
“Ultimately, the winner, if there is one, matters less than marketers’ ability to make the most of the growing number of smart devices to deliver rich, engaging experiences for consumers,” said Elkin.
