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Have Samsung passed Apple in smartphone sales? [Daily Star, The (Lebanon)]
[July 24, 2011]

Have Samsung passed Apple in smartphone sales? [Daily Star, The (Lebanon)]


(Daily Star, The (Lebanon) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Samsung Electronics Co., the world's second-largest handset maker, may have surpassed Nokia Oyj and Apple Inc. in smartphone sales in the second quarter, driven by the popularity of Android-based models, according to Boston-based Strategy Analytics.



Samsung is estimated to have sold between 18 million and 21 million smartphones globally in the period, compared with 16.7 million for Nokia and 20.3 million iPhones, Neil Mawston, a London-based analyst at the research company, said.

The maker of Galaxy devices is on track to pass Nokia and Research In Motion Ltd. in smartphone sales for the first time to become Apple's closest rival, as consumers flock to devices running Google Inc.'s Android system. Samsung, which aims to more than double smartphone sales this year, and Apple are vying to replace Nokia as the biggest smartphone seller and capitalize on surging demand for computer-like handsets.


"Apple, Samsung and Nokia are in a close three-way battle," said Mawston. "Samsung's Android portfolio is selling strongly in most regions. Samsung and Apple will be at similar levels in smartphones by the end of the year." Including basic phones, Samsung will probably have a 20 percent share this year, compared with Nokia's 26 percent, closing the gap to the narrowest ever, he said.

Samsung's smartphone sales, came in fourth in the first quarter, are accelerating after it began selling the Galaxy S II, a successor to its best-selling Android device introduced last year to counter Apple's iPhone.

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