The Top Three Mobile Manufacturers: Nokia, Samsung and Apple

Things are changing on the mobile phone market again. In 2011, Nokia again lost ground to Samsung and Apple, both of whom saw their market share go up, with Apple taking third spot on the podium for the first time.

All's well on the mobile phone market. With the success of smartphones, mobile sales are up by 150 million units over the course of the year, reaching 1.55 billion units sold in 2011 according to IDC.

Nokia, still no. 1 in the sector, has seen its market share shrink again, dropping to 27 % in 2011 (417 million handsets sold) from 33% in 2010. It's very much counting on its Lumia range, born from its marriage with Microsoft and Windows Phone 7, to gain ground in the smartphone segment.

With sales of 329.4 million handsets in 2011, Samsung is getting ever closer to Nokia and now has a share of 21.6%.

Still according to IDC, Apple has doubled its figures to 6% and is now no.3 for worldwide sales with 93 million iPhones sold over the year, 37 million of which were sold in the final quarter.

Finally, LG, still in difficulty, recorded sales of 88 million phones. Next comes the Chinese manufacturer ZTE (+31%), which has made huge gains with its entry-level Android smartphones.


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