Samsung Claims Apple’s Crown As World’s Biggest Smartphone Maker – Research Firms

Samsung has knocked Apple out of its throne as the world’s biggest smartphone maker, two reports from separate research firms say.

The news comes via Strategy Analytics and International Data Corporation (IDC), which both say that Samsung shipped more smartphones than Apple in the third quarter of the year. The two firms have varying data, however, as Samsung does not disclose its smartphone shipments.

The news is actually not that new. By the third week of October, The Wall Street Journal came out with a report citing an unnamed source saying that Samsung shipped more than 20 million smartphones in the third quarter. And as Apple already reported its third quarter earnings along with a figure of 17.1 million iPhone shipments in the quarter, this made Samsung the bigger company in smartphone shipments.

Nonetheless, this report was based on information from an unnamed source, albeit reportedly familiar with Samsung’s smartphone shipments for the July-August quarter.

Towards the end of October, Strategy Analytics confirmed the news. It said that for the just-ended third quarter, Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones. This is way more than the “over 20 million” the Journal reported. With this figure, Samsung is said by the analytics firm to have 23.8 percent of the smartphone market for the said quarter. Apple took 14.6 percent share.

In its report, Strategy Analytics said that “Samsung’s rise has been driven by a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution.”

Now another research company is saying that Samsung has taken Apple’s crown in the smartphone market share wars. IDC has published a report saying that the Suwon, South Korea-based Apple rival shipped 23.6 million smartphones in the third quarter. This is lower than the data Strategy Analytics has revealed but it is still higher than Apple’s 17.1 million iPhone shipments in the third quarter.

IDC’s data points to Samsung taking 20 percent of the smartphone market for the third quarter with Apple having 15 percent of the market.

Nonetheless, IDC says that it will be hard for Samsung to maintain its lead.

“Samsung’s position will be a challenge to maintain. Apple’s fourth-quarter launch of the iPhone 4S and lower pricing of older models will certainly boost volumes, and Nokia’s recent launch of Windows Phone smartphones marks the beginning of a new era for the company,” Ramon Llamas, a senior research analyst for IDC, said in a statement.

Yes, there really is a reason why Apple is in hot pursuit of Samsung in courts all around the world.

[cb]Samsung Electronics[/cb]

[cb]Apple[/cb]