4Q 2014. Gartner says: Apple 20.4%, Samsung 19.9% Lenovo 6.6% on worldwide smartphones market share. Full 2014 Samsung stills #1 .

There are numbers differences between what IDC reasearch firm says here and what Gartner says below:

Gartner Says Smartphone Sales Surpassed One Billion Units in 2014

Smartphone Sales Represented Two-Thirds of Global Phone Market in 2014

In Fourth Quarter of 2014 Samsung Lost No. 1 Position to Apple in Global Smartphone Market

Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users had a record fourth quarter of 2014 with an increase of 29.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to reach 367.5 million units, according to Gartner, Inc. Samsung lost the No. 1 spot to Apple in the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2014 (see Table 1). Samsung had been in the top spot since 2011. 

In 2014, sales of smartphones to end users totaled 1.2 billion units, up 28.4 percent from 2013 (see Table 2) and represented two-thirds of global mobile phone sales. 

"Samsung's performance in the smartphone market deteriorated further in the fourth quarter of 2014, when it lost nearly 10 percentage points in market share," said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Samsung continues to struggle to control its falling smartphone share, which was at its highest in the third quarter of 2013. This downward trend shows that Samsung's share of profitable premium smartphone users has come under significant pressure." 

"With Apple dominating the premium phone market and the Chinese vendors increasingly offering quality hardware at lower prices, it is through a solid ecosystem of apps, content and services unique to Samsung devices that Samsung can secure more loyalty and longer-term differentiation at the high end of the market," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. 

Apple: Apple reported its best quarter ever in the fourth quarter of 2014, which saw it sell 74.8 million units and move to the No. 1 position in the global smartphone market. Apple's first ever large-screen phones continued to see huge demand with sales in China and U.S., growing at 56 percent and 88 percent, respectively. Apple's strong ecosystem and its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus drove strong replacements within the iOS base. These new smartphones also offered new users, who are looking for larger screen phones, a strong alternative to Android. 

Lenovo: In the fourth quarter of 2014, Lenovo*, which includes sales of mobile phones by Lenovo and Motorola, moved to the No. 3 spot in the global smartphone market, reaching 6.6 percent market share and growing 47.6 percent year over year. Lenovo's sales of mobile phones in its home market, China, grew 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014. In addition, its strong mobile phone sales in Russia, India, Indonesia and Brazil in the fourth quarter of 2014 helped it grow by 26 percent in the global mobile phone market. 

Chinese vendors, such as Huawei and Xiaomi, are continuing to improve their sales in China and other overseas markets, increasing their share in the mid to low-end smartphone market. "Chinese vendors are no longer followers," said Ms. Cozza. "They are producing higher quality devices with appealing new hardware features that can rival the more established players in the mobile phone market. Brand building and marketing will be key activities in deciding which Chinese vendors can secure a foothold in mature markets." 

The availability of smartphones at lower prices accelerated the migration of feature phone users to smartphones pushing the smartphone operating system (OS) market to double-digit growth in most emerging countries, including India, Russia and Mexico. This trend continued to benefit Android, which saw its market share grow 2.2 percentage points in 2014, and 32 percent year on year (see Table 3). Chinese and other smaller players drove Android's performance in 2014, while more established players at the higher end of the market continued to struggle to increase stickiness to their brands and ecosystems. Windows Phone's performance was flat but it recorded strong results in some markets in Europe, and in the business segment. 

2013: Global Mobile Phones Shipmets market share: Samsung 27.2%, Nokia 15.2%, Apple 9.2%, LG 4.3%, TCLAlcatel 3.1%.Charts.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

2013: Global Mobile Phones Shipmets market share: Samsung 27.2%, Nokia 15.2%, Apple 9.2%, LG 4.3%, TCLAlcatel 3.1%.Charts.

Global Mobile Phone Shipments Reach 1.7 Billion Units in 2013.

According to the latest research from  Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, global mobile phone shipments grew 5 percent annually to reach a record 1.7 billion units in 2013.TCL-Alcatel became the world’s fifth largest mobile phone vendor for the first time ever in the final quarter of the year.

Despite ongoing economic headwinds in Asia and other emerging markets, global mobile phone shipments managed to grow a respectable 5 percent annually from 1.6 billion units in 2012 to 1.7 billion in 2013. It was the industry’s strongest overall performance for two years.

Fuelled by robust demand for its popular Galaxy models, Samsung tightened its grip, shipping a record 451.7 million mobile phones worldwide and capturing 27 percent marketshare to solidify its first-place lead. If Samsung maintains its current growth rate, it could ship a half-billion mobile phones in 2014.

Nokia’s global mobile phone shipments fell 25 percent from 335.6 million units in 2012 to 252.4 million in 2013. Nokia faced tough competition from Samsung in developing markets like India, while LG and others ramped up the pressure in developed regions such as Western Europe. Nokia’s Windows Phones have been performing relatively well, but this was not enough to offset sluggish demand for its Asha models and other feature phones during the course of the year.

Apple shipped a record 153.4 million mobile phones worldwide in 2013, up from 135.8 million in 2012. However, Apple’s growth rate moderated from 46 percent in 2012 to just 13 percent during 2013. Apple’s lack of presence in the low-end smartphone segment and the big-screen phablet category are costing the firm sizeable volumes.Other findings from the research include:

• LG was the world’s fourth largest mobile phone vendor in 2013, capturing 4 percent marketshare. LG’s Optimus range of Android models is proving popular in Europe and elsewhere;
• TCL-Alcatel, of China, grew 48 percent annually to ship 18.3 million units globally in Q4 2013 and became the world’s fifth largest mobile phone vendor for the first time ever during the quarter. A portfolio of low-cost smartphones and feature phones in Latin America and Europe is driving the growth.

Exhibit 1: Global Mobile Phone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q4 2013  [1]

Global Mobile Phone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units)	Q4 '12	2012	Q4 '13	2013
Samsung	108.0	396.5	118.0	451.7
Nokia	86.3	335.6	64.8	252.4
Apple	47.8	135.8	51.0	153.4
LG	15.4	56.6	18.7	71.0
TCL-Alcatel	12.4	39.5	18.3	52.0
Others	170.2	616.0	201.6	679.5
Total	440.1	1580.0	472.4	1660.0
Global Mobile Phone Vendor Marketshare %	Q4 '12	2012	Q4 '13	2013
Samsung	24.5%	25.1%	25.0%	27.2%
Nokia	19.6%	21.2%	13.7%	15.2%
Apple	10.9%	8.6%	10.8%	9.2%
LG	3.5%	3.6%	4.0%	4.3%
TCL-Alcatel	2.8%	2.5%	3.9%	3.1%
Others	38.7%	39.0%	42.7%	40.9%
Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
Total Growth Year-over-Year %	0.1%	2.2%	7.3%	5.1%
Source: Strategy Analytics

---

[1]  Numbers are rounded. The data-table does not include grey phone shipments. The Mobile Phone total is defined as smartphones plus feature phones combined.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S4 Factory Unlocked:

Samsung Galaxy s4 mini duos unlocked on amazon store:

3Q 2012: WorldWide smartphone and mobile phone market share. Samsung leading.Charts.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Please click on the charts below to enlarge the view:

3Q 2012: WorldWide smartphone and mobile phone market share. Samsung leading.Charts.

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 2.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), driven by heavyweights Samsung and Apple as Nokia dropped off the Top 5 list of smartphone vendors. 

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 444.5 million mobile phones in 3Q12 compared to 434.1 million units in the third quarter of 2011.

In the worldwide smartphone market vendors shipped 179.7 million units in 3Q12 compared to 123.7 million units in 3Q11. The 45.3% year-over-year growth was slightly above IDC's forecast of 45.2% for the quarter.

Equally noteworthy was the decline of Nokia, which was replaced by Research In Motion as a Top 5 smartphone player. Nokia's exit from the Top 5, where it had resided since the inception of IDC's Mobile Phone Tracker in 2004, was precipitated by the rise of Samsung and Apple globally and high-growth vendors like Huawei in China, where Nokia was the dominant player as recently as the third quarter of 2011.

"Nokia's share losses have meant gains for competitors," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "The company's transition away from Symbian-powered smartphones to ones shipped with Windows Phone has left ample opportunity for rivals to steal share away from Nokia over the past 18 months. However, the smartphone market is still relatively nascent, which means there's room for multiple vendors and operating systems to flourish, including Nokia."

"Nokia is not the only smartphone vendor in transition," added Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "Research In Motion, although still a market leader, expects to start shipping its first BB10 devices in 2013. Motorola, once the number 3 smartphone vendor worldwide, is redirecting itself under its parent company Google. These are just two vendors among many that feel the competitive pressure of Samsung and Apple, but are striving to create multiple points of differentiation to assert upward pressure."

Nonetheless, IDC expects long-term mobile phone and smartphone shipment demand to grow due to the central role mobile phones play in people's lives. "At the heart of mobility is communication," noted Llamas. 

"Mobile phones and smartphones play a critical role in keeping people connected, regardless of location. In addition, their utility beyond communication – productivity, entertainment, and multimedia – continues to add to their value."

Smartphone Vendor Highlights

Samsung maintained its leadership position in the worldwide smartphone market, posting another record quarter for itself and the industry, and more than double the total volume of its next closest competitor, Apple. This marks the first time since 4Q09 that a single company held more than 31% market share in a single quarter. Samsung's growth was fueled in large part by its broad, deep, and refreshed Android portfolio, highlighted by the full quarter availability of its flagship model Galaxy S III. In addition, the company announced multiple mid-range and mass-market models, including a new Windows Phone, the ATIV S.

Apple iPhone shipments finished the quarter nearly flat from the previous quarter, reaching a total of 26.9 million units. Although the iPhone 5 was only on the market for one week in 3Q12, the aggressive rollout of the device resulted in more than 5 million iPhones sold in the first weekend of availability, which helped buoy Apple's shipment totals. iPhone sales weren't dampened by the introduction of its Maps software, which was not completely ready for use. Instead, the iPhone 5's larger screen and 4G LTE connectivity generated user interest. What remains to be seen is how Apple will fare during the holiday quarter, when the iPhone 5 will be available in more countries worldwide.

Research In Motion's shipment volumes appear to have flattened though the company posted the second-highest year-over-year decline of any the leading vendors. RIM relied on its older product portfolio and models to achieve its status as a top 5 smartphone seller. RIM's installed base, which topped 80 million active users during the quarter, provides further evidence of the company's widespread presence globally. Still, without a new flagship model in time for the holiday season and BB10 models not expected until the first quarter of 2013, RIM's position as a top 5 smartphone vendor will be under tremendous pressure from other companies.

ZTE finished among the top 5 smartphone vendors globally thanks to continued international diversification efforts last quarter. ZTE has grown its smartphone sales of late thanks primarily to an uptick in lower-cost smartphone sales in many emerging markets. The company has traditionally been dependent on sales of phones to China, where the company is based. However, notable progress was made in North America last quarter.

HTC clung to the number 5 smartphone spot last quarter thanks to sales of key models such as the HTC One X and the EVO 4G. Continued year-over-year growth in the Asia/Pacific region helped the smartphone vendor offset some of the share losses the vendor has endured in key mature markets, namely the U.S. The company hopes to rejuvenate its global fortunes this quarter with the introduction of the 8X and 8S models, powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, among others. However, it will have to convince consumers that the differences between the models and Android-powered phones or iPhones are interesting enough to merit a purchase. 

The differences between Mobile phones, feature phones and smartphones, by Nokia.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

The differences between Mobile phones, feature phones and smartphones, by Nokia.

Smartphones, feature phones, mobile phones. What’s the difference? You may think it’s easy to distinguish between them all, but sometimes there’s not much difference between them. Here’s our breakdown of the three.

As a rule of thumb, the best way to differentiate the three groups is to keep in mind its features and therefore, cost. If a phone just makes a phone call, sends a text message and offers very little else, it’s mobile phone. If it offers a high-megapixel camera, enables you to edit Microsoft Office documents and photos then it’s a smartphone. And anywhere in between is probably a feature phone.

To explain things further, let’s look more in detail about the differences.

Mobile phones

These are usually the most affordable phones on the market. A great example of this is the Nokia 100. While a mobile phone doesn’t come packed with a high-end features, what it does offer is a brilliant battery life. This one has a standby time of 840 hours – well over a month – for example.

A mobile phone is principally there for the crucial jobs; to enable you to make a phone call and the odd SMS. In addition to its affordable price, one of the key reasons this model is so popular in places like Africa is its durable, dust-resistant design. 

Feature phones

Feature phones lie in the ever-contested space between mobile phones and smartphones. 

They are rich in features, very clearly more advanced than a mobile phone, but not quite so advanced as a smartphone. Often they have built-in cameras sometimes with a fairly high megapixel count. They support apps, game downloads and feature a Web browser. The Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306 and Nokia Asha 311are all feature phones

These particular examples are very close to being smartphones, and by some people’s definitions, they are. For now we’ll stick with Wikipedia’s definition of a smartphone, though: “A smartphone is a mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a feature phone.”

Of course, there’s a problem with this definition. What is “more advanced” changes every year. Ten years ago, having a calendar app would have been enough to get into the smartphone camp. Today, it’s nothing short of augmented reality browsers and HD video capabilities.

Feature phones are perfect for people who want more than just to make a phone call, but possibly don’t want to spend a lot of money on a fully-fledged smartphone. It’s a very good happy medium.

Smartphones

A smartphone is, as we’ve just discussed, a phone that’s at the forefront of current technology.

Current smartphones are capable of taking high-res photos that you can edit right on the phone. You could also create Office documents, edit them and upload them to the Cloud. Smartphones also feature GPS for finding your way around the world, plus much more.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is one example of a smartphone. It’s beautifully crafted, meets most of your needs and is for all intents and purposes a mobile computer

Most people start their phone journey with a mobile phone, as it’s the perfect way to be introduced to new technology. Then, after time, their confidence – and desire – grows and it’s time to upgrade to a feature phone. From here, not everybody takes the leap to smartphone, as feature phones are capable of so much.

However, those that do progress to smartphone do so to always be connected to the things that are important to them, whether it be friends and family on social networks, or to be kept up-to-date with the latest news from around the world, or to just blast some aliens in a high-def online game.