Nokia finally dethroned by Samsung

Nokia have been dislodged from the top spot by Samsung in Q1 for the first time ever in the phone sector.

Samsung shipped 92 million phones in the first quarter, compared to 83 million from Nokia. According to IHS iSuppli however Samsung are in second place behind Apple in the smartphone sector.

Samsung's shipments dropped by 13% compared against Q4, however Nokia's dropped by a staggering 27%.

Wayne Lam, senior analyst, wireless communications at IHS said “With cellphones now accounting for more than 40% of Samsung's overall revenue, it's clear that the company's continued investments in smartphone hardware and software R&D are paying off. The company is not only cashing in on the market's shift to smartphones, but is also succeeding in other cellphone product categories, allowing it to capture the overall market lead. What makes Samsung's performance even more impressive is that the company's latest Galaxy S III handset has yet to be launched, with shipments set to start in May. This indicates Samsung is likely to make further progress in market share in 2012.”

This is the first time since 1998 that Nokia has not been the top brand in the global phone market. It marks a new development, that market growth is now generated by the smartphone sector and not by the ultra low cost handsets that have been popular in the last 10 years.

Smartphones accounted for 34% of Samsungs handset shipments in Q1 and Nokia struggled with only 14% in the same sector. Analysts claim that Nokia's sole link with Microsoft and Windows Phone isn't helping them either as Microsoft are only claiming 2% of the market.

Research In Motion are struggling, with smartphone shipments down 21% to 11 million in the first quarter.

Kitguru says: It is also hard to ignore Apple, as last year in Q1 they sold 19 million iPhones, but this year the number increased to 35 million, an increase of 88%.

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