Galaxy Series Helps Samsung Smartphone Sales Blast Off
by Rob Jackson on February 7th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
phandroid.com
Samsung may have had a late entrance in the overall Android race, but boy have they caught up quickly thanks to their line of Galaxy devices. A report published by IDC Corp (via Reuters) claims that Samsung now owns 9.6% of the global smartphone market, nearly tripling their share and multiplying their shipments by a factor of five.
HTC, who have been a fixture in the Android space since producing the first ever Android phone (the T-Mobile G1 , now own 8.5% of the market after tripling their shipments. For Samsung and HTC, the statistics are impressive indeed.
Manufacturers who have gotten aboard the Android rocket have seen smartphone sales surge while former limelighters like BlackBerry and Nokia are struggling. But I think there’s also something to be said about Android enjoying success BECAUSE of the caliber of manufacturers who have put their full efforts behind the OS. Without heavyweights like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and other big names offering top of the line hardware, Android wouldn’t be enjoying such high levels of success so quickly.
There is definitely a level of synergy and between the OS, the manufacturers, and the carriers. Android has allowed them a great amount of leverage, and by putting their resources towards Android, it’s created and unstoppable momentum whose ceiling we probably won’t see any time soon.
A lot of it is simply good timing… right? Smartphone shipments in the 4th quarter rose to more than 100 million, an 87% increase year-over-year. Would Android be having such success if smartphones hadn’t become so hot? I’d argue that Google and the Android OS are largely responsible, acting as a catalyst for increased capabilities at lower cost, igniting what has become hottest consumer electronic category in all the land. |
