A spike in Q4 2011 iPhone sales (due to the iPhone 4S launch) "saved" an otherwise slow W. European smartphone market, Gartner says-- while other vendors such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and RIM show "disappointing" results.
On a global level, Q4 2011 smartphone sales to end users total 149M units with Y-o-Y growth reaching 47.3%. Smartphone sales for 2011 reach 472M units (up by 58% Y-o-Y) accounting for 31% of the total mobile device market.
Gartner says Apple is now the biggest smartphone vendor for both Q4 (23.8% market share) and 2011 as a whole (19% market share)-- and the 3rd biggest mobile vendor.
On the other hand Nokia sales decrease by 8.7% Y-o-Y in Q4 2011 (reaching 111.7M units) due to a still troubled European economy and weak brand status. However Gartner predicts Nokia will continue offering "aggressive prices" and new devices, such as the Windows Phone-powered Lumia handsets.
Meanwhile global Q4 2011 mobile device sales grow by 5.4% Y-o-Y to reach 476.5M units, while 2011 sales total 1.8 billion units with 11.1% Y-o-Y growth. Gartner expects the overall mobile market to grow by 7% Y-o-Y in 2012, with smartphone growth slowing down to 39% Y-o-Y.
When it comes to operating systems, Android continues dominating, with 50.9% Q4 2011 market share mainly thanks to strong Samsung sales. iOS is close behind, with 23.8% share (up from 15.8% in Q4 2010)-- but Gartner expects iOS share to drop at the upgrade cycle to the iPhone 4S slows down. Microsoft Windows Phone share reaches a mere 1.9%, down from 3.4% in Q4 2010.
