The Phone Market In 2013

If you look back 10 years in the mobile phone market, you would find a very different landscape than today. Nokia was the undoubted leader with Erickson and Motorola following behind. Samsung were also-rans and Apple had yet to enter the market. HTC was focusing on other activities.

The picture now is very different. Samsung emerged as the leader in the overall mobile market in 2012 taking the title of most mobile phone sales globally. Nokia were relegated to second position, mainly because Samsung has such a large share of the 3g mobile phones market.

Apple Success

Apple had amazing success with the iPhone series. They managed to sell 5 million iPhone 5 devices in just 3 days. Compare that to most other companies and you have a picture of 6 months sales in 3 days.

HTC Battling

HTC were hit hard when Samsung entered the Android market. Previously, they had become synonymous with the Android phone, and techies would suggest HTC as the way forward, loving the Android platform.

HTC are now rebounding with the Windows phones that they are releasing. No doubt, HTC is down the pecking order. Apple has amazing brand loyalty for their iPhone series. Samsung has developed a superb set of phones; the Samsung Galaxy S3 was tremendous, and the Note 2 similarly, but in a different way.

HTC are looking to enter the Chinese market with their cheapest ever smartphone, attempting to break the market and make a winning start in a geographical area with huge smartphone market potential. We await the success of the Asian adventure.

[Image Source: businessweek.com]

Apple iPhone Haters

Many critics looked at the iPhone 5 and said it was a below par delivery and below expectations. With so much riding on the iPhone, Apple must get it right in the iPhone 6 or face obliteration in the smartphone market. It appears that Apple is looking to introduce a lower budget iPhone in the future, possibly very soon.

This may signal danger to other phones and manufacturers especially at the budget and mid-range levels. The iPhone brand has captured the imagination to a level never before seen in the phone market. Perhaps a budget phone could take iPhone to the next level volume-wise.

Blackberry Resurgence?

Blackberry has launched their new operating system and seems to have developed a phone with wider appeal through the Q10. Only time will tell whether they can survive the onslaught of technology from Samsung and Apple.

In Summary

2013 is a crucial year for the smartphone market. We will see consolidation as manufacturers increase specifications and innovate, while consumers get a better understanding of what they really want and like. The market has moved so quickly that we still do not know what is the preferred screen size. Bigger isn't always better.

The picture in the smartphone market is clear at the moment. Samsung and Apple are the leader, but for how long.

   Phil Turner

About the Guest Author:

Phil Turner has been studying 3g mobile phones for nearly a  year now and can see a definite acceleration in new developments being released.