Global smartphone shipments to touch 1 bn units in 2013: IDC

Aided by rising demand for low-cost android phones and mobile phone makers launching flagship models, worldwide smartphone market is expected to touch one billion units this year, global research firm IDC said.
Worldwide smartphone shipments stood at 216.2 million units in January-March quarter of 2013 and 237.9 million units in April-June.
Global smartphone market rose by 38.8 per cent year over year in the third quarter of 2013 with mobile phone vendors shipping 258.4 million smartphones during the period compared to the third quarter of 2012, it said in a statement.
IDC said the growth is a new record for units shipped in a single quarter. The previous high was 237 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2013.

"With already strong growth in Q3 2013 and multiple vendors launching flagship models, the market will be poised to reach one billion units for the year. It's a significant milestone considering the market shipped just half a billion units in 2011," IDC Mobile Phone team Research Manager Ramon Llamas said.
Moving forward, what remains to be seen is how various companies and platforms will stay differentiated and relevant in the increasingly competitive market, he added.

"Looking ahead, we anticipate strong momentum going into the fourth quarter and another record quarter and year in the worldwide smartphone market," Lalmas said.
The global mobile phone market, including smartphones, reached 467.9 million units in Q3 2013 compared to the 442.7 million units shipped in Q3 2012, a growth of 5.7 per cent.

The third quarter shipments were up 7 per cent compared to 437.4 million units shipped in Q2 2013.
"The third quarter was up substantially over the previous quarter, which was also a record quarter for shipments, showing the real momentum of the smartphone market.
"Price points have declined significantly, driven largely by low-cost Android solutions," IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Programme Director Ryan Reith said.
Android smartphone platform has created vast opportunities for new vendors to get into the smartphone space and, in turn, has produced new competitive pressures at the top of the market, he added.