Apple overtakes Samsung as top U.S. mobile phone vendor for first time in Q4 2012 - Page 2

 

Right, because there's no other reason to be interested in the Chinese market, so clearly it's a sign of trouble that they are.

 

Pathetic, even coming from you.

No, all that matters is I have a device with excellent support, service, timely updates, great App selection & App quality, lots of accessories and a great aftermarket.

Something others could only dream of.

NPD Group came out with their report on the 4th quarter US mobile market today. Unlike IDC's, this one is specific to smartphones rather than including feature phones.

 

They show Apple coming in at number one in the 4th quarter too, just as the IDC did, but do note a drop from 41% to 39% YOY. Samsung comes in number two as expected, but jumping from just 21% of last years 4th qtr smartphone sales to 30% this past quarter. 

 

 

Following is NPD's year-over-year comparison of market share and growth for the top-five smartphone manufacturers:

            Q4 2011            Q4 2012

Apple   41%      39%

Samsung          21%      30%

Motorola           8%       7%

HTC      14%      6%

LG        5%       6%

"Even taking into account the tremendous sales growth of the Galaxy III and other Samsung smartphones, the iPhone is still king of the U.S.-market hill," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at The NPD Group. "In addition to strong U.S. sales of iPhone 5, Apple has been bolstered by strong and continued demand for older, less-expensive iPhone models."

 

Based on information from NPD's monthly Mobile Phone Track service, when comparing Q3 2012 with Q4 2012, U.S. iPhone 4 sales increased 79 percent and iPhone 4S sales grew 43 percent. Sales of the iPhone 5 made up 43 percent of all iPhone sales in Q4 2012 and accounted for almost two thirds of all post-paid smartphone sales above $199

 

Based on the latest information from NPD, the top-selling mobile phones in the U.S. were as follows:

Rank     Brand

1          iPhone 5

2          Samsung Galaxy S III

3          iPhone 4S

4          iPhone 4

5          Samsung Galaxy S II

Total mobile phone unit sales increased 24 percent in Q4 2012, compared to the previous year with smartphones increasing by 52 percent and feature phones declining by 31 percent. Smartphones represented a record eight in 10 (81 percent) mobile phones sold, compared to just 66 percent in Q4 2011."

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/npd-group-iphone-still-leading-us-consumer-sales

I was surprised to see the relatively old Galaxy S2 come in at number 5. I had no idea they were still pushing those. I guess Samsung is copying Apple again, using their strategy of keeping old models of their flagship line around as less-expensive entry models for the pre-paid or budget shoppers.

 

EDIT: Here's a better link to the NPD report, straight from NPD themselves.

https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/the-npd-group-iphone-still-leading-us-consumer-sales/

Edited by Gatorguy - 2/1/13 at 12:15pm