Samsung and Apple have reached the top of the list of global
smartphone makers in the second quarter, blowing past Nokia and
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, according to data released by
research firm IDC.
Samsung jumped from No. 4 in the first quarter to No. 2 in the
second, on the strength of its Android-based Galaxy phones. The
company sold 17.3 million smartphones in the second quarter, up from
10.8 million in the first, IDC said.
Apple rose to No. 1, taking the spot from Nokia, by selling 20.3
million iPhones, up from 18.7 million in the first quarter. That
relegated Finland's Nokia, the long-time leader, to third place.
Nokia sold 16.7 million smartphones, a drop from 24.2 million in
the previous quarter. The company has struggled to come up with an
answer to the iPhone. Nokia is now transitioning to smartphone
software from Microsoft, but it's first Windows Phones won't be on
sale until late this year, at the earliest.
Canada's RIM fell from third to fourth place, as it saw a decline in
BlackBerry sales from the first quarter to the second. Like Nokia,
it has been struggling to update the high end of its line to compete
with touch-screen phones such as the iPhone. It unveiled five new
models with
updated "BlackBerry 7 " software this week.
HTC remained in fifth place, but it's seeing rapidly growing sales.
Like Samsung, it has bet on Google's Android software for its
phones.
Apple's sales record comes nearly a year after it released its
latest model, the iPhone 4, and it's still selling millions of the
even older iPhone 3GS. Competitors such as Samsung put out new
models every few months.