IDC: Apple passes RIM to become fourth largest mobile phone vendor globally as Nokia, LG, and Sony Ericsson struggle

Can you remember the day when Apple's audacious plan to sell 10 million iPhones in its first year was greeted with extreme skepticism within the cellphone industry. Now the computer company is shipping 14.1 million handsets every three months according to the latest IDC numbers, moving Apple into fourth place on its Top 5 list of mobile phone vendors worldwide. That moves Apple ahead of RIM, thus confirming a Steve Jobs boast made during Apple's Q4 earnings calls. Sony Ericsson has been pushed off the list for the first time since 2004 when IDC began tracking the top 5 vendors.

But that's not the only interesting bit of information we see in the IDC numbers that tally all cellphone shipments, not just smartphones. Overall market leader Nokia, slipped from a 36.5 percent to a 32.4 percent market share since the same quarter last year. IDC notes that Nokia is starting to show some weakness in emerging markets, one of Nokia's last strongholds, with smaller regional handset makers starting to grab market share away from Espoo in Asia / Pacific and Latin America. It's not doing well in smartphones either, with IDC claiming that Android devices are gaining momentum at Nokia's expense. LG is also suffering with a 10.1 percent decline in shipments since the same quarter last year, dropping from 10.6 percent to an 8.3 percent market share globally. Read the full report after the break.

Continue reading IDC: Apple passes RIM to become fourth largest mobile phone vendor globally as Nokia, LG, and Sony Ericsson struggle

IDC: Apple passes RIM to become fourth largest mobile phone vendor globally as Nokia, LG, and Sony Ericsson struggle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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