Both Apple and Samsung overtook long-time volume leader Nokia for the top two spots in global smartphone shipments rankings, according to Strategy Analytics.

Global smartphone shipments grew an impressive 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in the second quarter of 2011.

We had previously reported on Apple becoming the largest smartphone vendor in terms of revenue and profits. Now, just four years after the release of the original iPhone, Apple has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with 18 percent market share. Apple’s growth remained strong as it expanded distribution worldwide, particularly in China and Asia,” said Alex Spektor, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Samsung overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 2011. Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually, for 17 percent global smartphone market share. Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model.

Having become the first ever vendor to ship 100 million smartphones in a single year during 2010, long-time leader Nokia has slipped two places in our rankings in Q2 2011. The vendor’s 15 percent global smartphone market share is less than half of what it was just one year earlier, as the industry awaits Nokia’s pending transition to Windows Phone 7,” said Tom Kang, director at Strategy Analytics.

By Telecomlead.com Team
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