Apple Now 4th Largest Global Mobile Phone Vendor

During my work as a market analyst with Creative Strategies,Inc we are constantly analyzing market share of whatever companies or products we are tracking.   My colleagues over at IDC have recently released numbers showing that Apple has now entered fourth place passing R.I.M in worldwide shipments of mobile phones.   Some people may read this and think these numbers are just for SmartPhone shipments however that is not the case.  Apple is now the fourth largest mobile phone vendor globally of total units shipped.

This is not an insignificant market development.    If this trend continues Apple will pass R.I.M in SmartPhone market share to claim the number one spot in SmartPhone shipments and market share.

With the whole Apple vs. Google debate it has to be appreciated that Apple makes only one phone where Google licenses their Android OS to many phone makers.   So the fact that Apple is competing so heavily from a hardware and a software standpoint needs to be noticed.  The point that Apple makes only one phone while everyone else on that list has nearly a dozen on the market at any given time is also critical.

A couple of other things to notice is Apple's 90.5% year-over-year growth.  Compare that to the market leaders and you can see why Apple is climbing so fast.

Even though Apple is in 4th place there is still plenty of room to grow.   There is also going to be plenty of competition which is why I constantly remind our clients that we live in exciting times.

[Via: MarketWatch]