It's on: Samsung pips Apple at the post

Samsung has pipped Apple in both Australia and New Zealand to become the number one mobile phone seller in Q3.

IDC figures released today attribute Samsung’s jump to both its Galaxy S II smartphone and recently-released budget $99 S5511T feature phone, as well as the company’s push to expand its brand presence. The rise in popularity of the Android operating system was also a positive influence, as it similarly beat out Apple’s iOS to become the top OS in A/NZ with 49 percent market share, compared to Apple’s 36 percent. Smartphones currently make up 65 percent of the Australian mobile phone market, with feature phones contributing the remaining 35 percent.

The Australian market did, however, see a slowdown during the second quarter which dropped 17 percent on the previous three months, while the New Zealand market soared, up 55 percent on Q2.

IDC analyst Yee-Kuan Lau attributed the rise in New Zealand to demand for Samsung's Galaxy S II and Galaxy 5 models, as well as growing popularity for Huawei smartphones, particularly low cost handsets such as the U8180 Ideos X1.

The data continues a recent run of bad news for Apple which was last week denied a special leave application by the High Court of Australia to have Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from sale in Australia. The two companies continue to fight over patents relating to tablets and smartphones in multiple international jurisdictions.

Nokia a drag

Lau said that while the period was seasonally slow in Australia, there were specific factors which contributed to the overall flatness.

“It’s also partially impacted by a continuing decline in Nokia Siemens, a key player in the feature phones market,” she said. “The other major players are also declining across this market. Consumers are gradually shifting from feature phones to smartphones, given that a lot of feature phones are priced similarly to the cheaper Android devices.”

Despite this Lau expects demand for feature phones to remain.

“It’s not a market that will die off, because at this point in time, not all users are converting immediately to smartphones,”she said. “We do see a decline in terms of units for feature phones, but there is still a demand for some users who choose the cheaper option. Some are extremely low priced and smartphones just can’t beat that.”

Smartphones keep mobile market afloat

Lau said the rise in smartphone popularity had helped prop up a market experiencing a decline in interest for feature phones. She predicted marketing and competitive price points would increase demand and earn Android 40 percent of the market share within three years.

This will also affect the business market, as more organisations move towards implementing BYO policies.

“At the end of the day, people in organisations are consumers,” she said. “We are starting to see a lot of BYO policies in organisations impacted by consumer choices.”

She said Apple’s strategy of releasing one smartphone per year would help to maintain interest in its products, but expects it may not be enough to outrun Android devices.

“Android is growing very fast in Australia, both in high end and lower end, cheaper phones,” she said. “They catch a lot of volume in the market. We’re going to see intense competition between these two.”

IDC expects just under 9.5 million smartphones to be shipped to the A/NZ markets by the end of the year.