Worldwide mobile device sales to end users totaled 325.6 million units in the second quarter of 2010, a 13.8 percent increase from the same period in 2009, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales to end users accounted for 19 percent of worldwide mobile device sales, an increase of 50.5 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

“Although the mobile communication devices market showed double-digit growth this quarter, average selling prices (ASPs) were lower than expected and margins fell,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “We attribute the decline in ASPs to a stronger dollar, a depreciating euro, and intense competition that drove price adjustments and changes to the product mix.” Manufacturers such as LG and Samsung pursued market share in a low-margin market but this approach proved risky, as shown by LG’s decline of 27.8 percent in ASP in the second quarter of 2010.

While new product introductions from Apple, HTC and Motorola, along with the drop in ASPs, drove strong sales of smartphones, shortages of components, such as active matrix organic LED (AMOLED) displays impaired sales volumes of some of the more popular new smartphones.

The second quarter also saw some movement in the top 10 mobile device manufacturer rankings (see Table 1). HTC made its debut in the top 10 worldwide ranking, holding the No. 8 position with 139.1 percent growth year-on-year. This reflects the popularity of its Android portfolio but also a more aggressive branding strategy compared to the same period in 2009. “Crucially, as we predicted, the sudden growth in media tablets, such as the Apple iPad, did not appear to hold back smartphone sales. We believe that most tablet users still feel the need for a truly pocketable, yet highly capable, device for those situations when it's inconvenient to carry a device with a larger form factor,” said Ms. Milanesi.

Table 1
Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users in 2Q10 (Thousands of Units)

 

Company	2Q10  Units	2Q10 Market Share (%)	2Q09  Units	2Q09 Market Share (%)
Nokia	111,473.8	34.2	105,413.4	36.8
Samsung	65,328.2	20.1	55,430.1	19.3
LG	29,366.7	9.0	30,497.0	10.7
Research In Motion	11,228.8	3.4	7,678.9	2.7
Sony Ericsson	11,008.5	3.4	13,574.3	4.7
Motorola	9,109.4	2.8	15,947.8	5.6
Apple	8,743.0	2.7	5,434.7	1.9
HTC	5,908.8	1.8	2,471.0	0.9
ZTE	5,545.8	1.7	3,697.9	1.3
G’Five	5,208.6	1.6	NA	NA
Others	62,635.2	19.30	45,977.2	16.1
Total	325,556.8	100.0	286,122.3	100.0

Source: Gartner (August 2010)