Q3 2012: Samsung Galxy SIII named as top-selling smartphone.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Q3 2012: Samsung Galxy SIII named as top-selling smartphone.

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S to become the world’s best-selling smartphone in Q3, according to Strategy Analytics – though the firm expects Apple to regain the crown in the current quarter.

The South Korean vendor’s flagship Android device clocked up sales of 18 million in the quarter, giving it a 10.7 percent share of the global smartphone market. Sales of the device more than tripled from the 5.4 million shipped in Q2.

“A large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S3’s success,” said Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Samsung itself only sporadically publishes smartphone sales figures. However, it confirmed earlier this week that the Galaxy S3 has surpassed 30 million global sales since launching five months ago.

Apple is said to have sold 16.2 million units of the iPhone 4S and 6 million of its successor, the iPhone 5, for 9.7 percent and 3.6 percent shares, respectively.

There were 127.6 million smartphones from other vendors shipped in the quarter, says Strategy Analytics, accounting for 76 percent of the market.

“We expect the new iPhone 5 to outship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in [Q4] and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model,” added Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics. 

Video: iPhone 5 mock up vs iPhone 4S at IFA2012.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Video: iPhone 5 mock up vs iPhone 4S at IFA2012.

At IFA2012 Berlin show of an iPhone 5 mocked up is in exhibition. The Verge made a video comparing both iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 mock up, sure made based in the rumors.

USA: Virgin Mobile to offer prepaid iPhone 4 and 4S.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

USA:  Virgin Mobile to offer prepaid iPhone 4 and 4S.

Virgin Mobile USA, the prepaid brand owned by US number-three operator Sprint, is to begin offering the iPhone later this month, marking the second deal Apple has struck with a prepaid carrier in as many weeks.

Virgin Mobile will offer the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S beginning 29 June, offering unlimited data and messaging plans from as low as US$30 per month without a contract. Customers can also use the device as a mobile hotspot for an additional US$15 per month.

The base tariffs are lower than the iPhone prices unveiled by rival prepaid operator Leap Wireless last week, which will offer a US$55 per-month, all-inclusive unlimited talk, text and data iPhone plan when it launches the device via its Cricket brand on 22 June.

However, Virgin Mobile’s up-front costs for the devices are higher, charging US$549 for the 8GB iPhone 4 and US$649 for the 16GB iPhone 4S, compared to US$399 and US$499 at Cricket.

Sprint already offers the iPhone to its postpaid customers and analysts believe the Virgin Mobile prepaid deal may see it lure more iPhone customers away from larger rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

“At US$50 per month (versus comparable unlimited options from AT&T at US$100-plus per month), we believe this could gain some traction among U.S. customers who are able to pay the upfront costs,” Brian Marshall, an analyst at ISI Group, told Bloomberg. 

Europeans: New iPhone (4S) ? No thanks.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech showed on Thursday:

“Weakening economies and falling prices of rival smartphones are hurting sales of Apple iPhones across Europe.”

The October roll-out of Apple's iPhone 4S boosted its position in Britain and United States, but the new phones failed to excite interest in continental Europe, where Apple's share of the fast-growing smartphone market slipped.

The smartphone industry is dominated by Google, which has stormed the market with its free Android platform.

"In Great Britain, the U.S. and Australia, Apple's new iPhone continues to fly off the shelf in the run-up to Christmas. However, this trend is far from universal," said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director.

Apple's market share in the 12 weeks to end-November rose to 36 percent in the United States from 25 percent a year earlier and in Britain to 31 percent from 21 percent, Kantar said.

However, in France its share slipped to 20 percent from 29 percent and in Germany to 22 percent from 27 percent. Similar drops were seen in Italy and Spain.

"The French market is showing increasing signs of price sensitivity," Sunnebo said.

In part, the European sales of the expensive Apple model were hit by weakening economies across the continent.

Euro zone GDP grew just 0.2 percent in the third quarter and most economists expect it to contract in the fourth and also in the first three months of next year, sending the bloc back into recession after its two-year recovery from the worst global financial crisis since the 1930s.

The euro zone's own crisis with government debt has scared off investment and eaten into business and consumer confidence, particularly since August when investors intensified their scrutiny of the bloc's problems.

European consumers are keeping a lid on their expenses as government spending cuts and job losses deprive companies of demand for goods and crush exports.

Google had market shares of between 46 and 61 percent in all markets. Cellphone makers like Samsung Electronics, Sony Ericsson, LG Ericsson and Motorola Mobility all use its Android platform in their phones.

"In Germany, Android achieved a dominant 61 percent share of smartphone sales in the latest 12 weeks, with the Samsung Galaxy S II the top selling handset," Sunnebo said.

Related post:

Australia and New Zealand: Samsung smartphones take N° 1 spot, says IDC.

USA: Samsung Galaxy II smartphone tops intention to purchase this holiday.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Intent to purchase smartphones.Oct 1 to Nov 11, 2011.

  According to SocialNuggest, this chart below shows the % intent to purchase for Top 10 smartphones in the USA.  Besides Galaxy SII, Samsung also has Epic 4G Touch in that list. Apple has both iPhone 4S and its older iPhone 4 in the list though its older iPhone 3 doesn’t appear in the list despite carriers giving it away for free. 

 HTC is the only manufacturer with three smartphones in this list while Motorola has two and RIM has only one smartphone in this list.

Since this data is derived from social media analysis done from Oct through November, some of this data may change with new handset introduction or aggressive pricing from mobile operators or manufacturers themselves. 

Also it is possible that many users wanting to express their intent to purchase iPhone 4S may have only mentioned iPhone 4 in which case Apple iPhone 4S will lead this intent to purchase chart.

India: iPhone 4S coming in Nov 25.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Apple's latest iteration of its iPhone will be available in India on Nov. 25, but Cupertino has faced difficulty selling its mobile devices there due to limited 3G network coverage in the country, the world's second-largest mobile phone market.


Rival Indian carriers Bharti Airtel and Aircel will both launch the iPhone 4S at midnight on Friday, according to Times of India on Tuesday.


Both carriers did not reveal any details on the pricing, but the report drew reference from the US$649 price tag of an unlocked 16GB iPhone 4S and estimated that the cheapest model would cost between 35,000 and 40,000 rupees (US$696 and US$795).


It added that the companies were likely to offer reverse subsidy for iPhone 4S through discounted call and data plans.


India is the world's second largest mobile market after China, but the country's limited wireless network infrastructure and patchy third-generation (3G) services have made it a challenge for Apple to peddle its iPhone devices to the approximately 602 million active Indian mobile subscribers, noted a Bloomberg report in October.


Scotia Capital analyst, Gus Papageorgiou, said in the report: "Networks in India are just not conducive for Apple--3G networks aren't quite where they are in Western Europe and North America."


Citing IDC research, Bloomberg also pointed out that Apple accounted for only 2.6 percent of India's smartphone shipments in the quarter, ended Jun. 30, far lower than rivals Nokia, Samsung and BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion
.
Since its initial launch on Oct. 5, the iPhone 4S is now available in various countries in Asia-Pacific including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. South Korean handset maker, Samsung, earlier this week announced it would not push for a legal ban to prohibit sales of the iPhone 4S in its home country.