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Mobile Watch: round-up of 2010, expectations of 2011
While 2010 has been called by some as the year of the tablet, the mobile world saw much change, learning some beneficial lessons with the levelling of the playing field. We saw the launch of new mobile operating systems, countless phones, new chipsets, new display technologies, tablets, tablet-phones, phone-cameras, and a lot more…Let's hold hands and take a walk down 2010’s mobile hall of fame.

NEW OPERATING SYSTEMS

2010 could have just as easily been called the year of the mobile operating system, with eight new major operating systems being released, including Apple’s much updated iOS 4, Google’s polished Android Froyo and power-efficient Gingerbread, RIM’s touch-friendly BlackBerry OS 6, Symbian Foundation’s much maligned Symbian^3, Intel and Nokia’s MeeGo, HP-Palm’s refreshedwebOS2.0, and Microsoft’s mixed review champion – Windows Phone 7.
All of these brought something new to the table, and all of them learnt something from each other. A thing that they all share in common is a conscious movement towards simplicity, with seamless form looking to follow powerful function. Each offered users many of the features they’d been asking for, and each received varied amounts of praise and criticism. No matter how well they fare against each other now, the future of all these platforms looks promising, with major updates already promised to arrive by next year, and all the bustling competition making the end user the real winner.
webOS2.0
While Apple’s iOS devices, and in the smartphone equation, the iPhone, have been doing especially well this year - with over 14 million iPhones sold in a single quarter*2 - Android saw the most remarkable growth this year, despite what some call fragmentation in the form of four separate operating systems on sale in the market. Starting with a U.S. smarpthone market share of 14% in January*1, compared to Apple’s 32% and RIM’s 34%, Android assimilated a dominating 32% share of the market by August 2010, leaving RIM and Apple each a quarter. The introduction of Froyo (Android 2.2), widescale manufacturer adoption, and the burgeoning Android Market in no small way powered the rise.
ingerbread, or Android 2.3, is already being shown off, and the improved performance and interface it promises will soon be mass-adopted by manufacturers and hit markets in a big way by early 2011. It has just been released with the lead device of the platform, the Samsung madeGoogle Nexus S. Get more details of Gingerbread here. Android, just like iOS, will soon also get a tablet-oriented variant, called Honeycomb (or Android 3.0)
*1 Source: AC Nielsen August 2010 U.S. Smartphone Market Share

MOBILE MARKET SHARE

Global market shares by the third quarter of the year revealed some interesting trends, with the world’s largest manufacturer, Nokia, remaining at the top but losing share*2, while LG, Sony Ericsson and RIM suffered major losses alongside it. Apple saw some astounding growth, with the fruity giant reaching to the top four spot, passing RIM and managing to knock Sony Ericsson off the list Top 5 list for the first time since 2004. Samsung remained rock steady holding a fifth of the market. HTC and Motorola, though not on the list for now, are also quickly gaining market share, could come to rival Apple and RIM soon enough in 2011.
Looking specifically at India, domestic brands are starting to make a major impact, taking share away from top manufacturers Nokia and Samsung. The Indian market is currently one of the most diverse in the world, and 35 different brands are listed by the IDC. According to the report, Nokia’s share has fallen from 54% at the end of June last year to 36.3% at the end of June this year, while the top four domestic brands (Micromax, Spice, Karbonn and Lava) together now occupy nearly 33% of the market. While Nokia does dispute the numbers, and all statistics have to be taken with a pinch of salt, it is obvious that numerous Indian (as well as quite a few Chinese) brands are very active in the low-end markets in both the rural and urban sectors. The Top 5 according to IDC were Nokia, Samsung, G’Five, LG, and Micromax.
Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q3 2010 (Units in Millions)
Vendor
3Q10 Unit Shipments
3Q10 Market Share
3Q09 Unit Shipments
3Q09 Market Share
3Q10/3Q09 Change
1. Nokia
110.4
32.4%
108.5
36.5%
1.8%
2. Samsung
71.4
21.0%
60.2
20.3%
18.6%
3. LG Electronics
28.4
8.3%
31.6
10.6%
-10.1%
4. Apple
14.1
4.1%
7.4
2.5%
90.5%
5. R.I.M.
12.4
3.6%
8.5
2.9%
45.9%
Others
103.8
30.5%
80.9
27.2%
28.3%
Total
340.5
100.0%
297.1
100.0%
14.6%
*2Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, October 28, 2010

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