Strong smartphone demand and heated vendor competition mark out the state of the WW mobile market in 2012, IDC says-- Q4 2012 mobile phone shipments grow by 1.9% Y-o-Y to total 482.5 million units.
As for the full year, the global market is essentially flat (1.7 billion units with a slight -0.2% decline).
Smartphones represent 45.5% of total Q4 2012 shipments, the biggest percentage recorded by IDC yet, even if with somewhat lower growth than earlier IDC estimates (36.4% compared to the 39.5% estimate).
On an annual basis 2012 smartphone shipments total 545.2m units, up by 10.1% from 2011.
As one might expect Samsung (29% Q4 2012 smartphone share) and Apple (21.8%) dominate smartphones but IDC says the market still presents "ample opportunities for challengers," especially in emerging markets. Two such challengers are China's Huawei (4.9%) and ZTE (4.3%), who beat the likes of LG and HTC in the Top 5 smartphone vendor rankings.
"The fact that Huawei and ZTE now find themselves among the Top 5 smartphone vendors marks a significant shift for the global market," IDC says. "Both companies have grown volumes by focusing on the mass market, but in recent quarters they have turned their attention toward higher-end devices. In addition, both companies have pushed the envelope in terms of industrial design with larger displays and smaller form factors, as well as innovative applications and experiences."