Global Q3 2011 mobile device sales total 440.5M units according to Gartner, growing by 5.6% Y-o-Y-- despite the W. European market showing weak performance (as expected due to the current economic situation).
Making up for the European weakness are MEA territories, where emerging markets demand low-cost and dual-SIM handsets.
Gartner says Q3 2011 sales into the channel total 460M units, due to device shipments late in the quarter (in preparation for the holiday season) causing inventory build-up in the channel-- build-up Gartner expects will be clear by Q1 2012.
Smartphone demand is also stalling in W. Europe, as consumers hold off upgrades in order to either wait for holiday season promotions on high-end models or new iPhone models (and the price cuts older iPhone models receive afterwards).
Global Q3 2011 smartphone sales total 115M units, with 42% Y-o-Y growth-- and a -7% Q-o-Q decline. Smartphones account for 26% of all Q3 mobile device sales, a negligible increase from 25% in Q2 2011.
Nokia remains the WW mobile device leader, with 23.9% of global sales (down from 28.2% in Q3 2010). The company shows good performance in emerging markets (thanks to dual-SIM feature phones) and should improve further in Q4 through the push on the new Lumia devices, even if Gartner predicts Nokia won't see a true turnaround until H2 2012.
Samsung leads in WW smartphone sales, with smartphone sales to end users reaching 24M units in Q3 2011-- ahead of Nokia in W. Europe.
Apple iPhone sales are down by nearly 3M units from Q2 2011, reaching 17M (a 21% Y-o-Y increase) due to the iPhone 4S announcement.
When it comes to operating systems, Android leads with 52.5% of Q3 2011 smartphone sales (totalling 60M units), benefiting from "more mass-market offerings, a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems" according to Gartner.
