Apple’s iPhone dominated the US, global smartphone markets in Q4: report
Apple's iPhone dominated the US as well as worldwide smartphone markets during the three months to December, a fresh report by NPD and IDC revealed.
Apple sold a record 37 million iPhones during the last quarter of 2011. Released figures show that Apple grabbed 23.5 per cent of the worldwide smartphone market during the three months through December, up from 15.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Samsung grabbed the second spot with 22.8 percent of the market, while Finnish handset maker Nokia and Canadian manufacturer RIM could grab only 12.8 per cent and 8.2 per cent share of the market respectively.
With 6.5 per cent of the worldwide smartphone market, Taiwanese tech giant HTC stood at fifth spot.
The strong sales of Apple's latest smartphone allowed the Cupertino, Calif.-based gadgets maker to outsell rivals Samsung and LG in the broader worldwide smartphone market.
Ross Rubin from the NPD Group, said, "Attracted by a faster processor, improved camera and the Siri speech-driven agent, most iPhone buyers paid a premium for the iPhone 4S, making it the top-selling handset in Q4."
The report added that the worldwide smartphone market grew more-than-expected at 54.7 per cent to hit 157.8 million units during the concerned three months.
The report also revealed that Apple's iOS and Google's Android powered 91 per cent of the smartphones sold in the US during the quarter to December 2011.
