The worldwide mobile phone market rose 4 percent as vendors shipped 418.6 million mobile phones in Q1 compared to 402.4 million units in the first quarter of 2012 and 483.2 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012
Samsung: maintained the position it held at the end of 2012: the undisputed leader in the worldwide smartphone market. By the end of 1Q13, Samsung shipped more units than the next four vendors combined. The company revealed its highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 with new features including display, camera, WiFi, and security innovations. What remains to be seen is how Samsung's new Tizen-powered smartphones will look and feel later this year, and fit into the company's overall smartphone portfolio.Apple's smartphone shipment volume hit a new first-quarter high thanks in part to the iPhone 5, with volume growing 6.6% year over year. However, the last time the iPhone maker posted a single-digit year-over-year growth rate was 3Q09. The iPhone maker has held the second spot in the smartphone rankings for the past five quarters. Apple's mix of models shipped to market is increasingly diversified as it tries to reach new buyers.
LG returned to the smartphone Top 5 after a two-quarter absence, reaching record-high shipments in the process. Its smartphone volume for the quarter was driven in large part by its 3G smartphone portfolio, namely the L series and the Nexus 4. LTE-enabled devices, including the Optimus G series, also contributed to its success. LG hopes to continue its upward trajectory with the launch of the F and L series targeting the mid-range and entry-level segments.
Huawei has shown significant improvement from where it was a year ago, when it offered a handful of Ascend smartphones and had more limited presence outside the Asia/Pacific region. Since then Huawei has decreased its dependence on rebranded feature phones while growing its Ascend portfolio to address multiple customer segments with more branded smartphone offerings. The company nearly doubled its unit shipments to regions outside of Asia/Pacific this past quarter when compared to 1Q12.
ZTE's 1Q13 performance continued the trends established last year, with a strong showing in Asia/Pacific and North America, but a small presence in EMEA and Latin America despite its previous success with low-end feature phones there. With a target of increasing smartphone revenue by 30% this year, ZTE will try to grow in North America and Europe. In China, where increasing price pressure has challenged vendors to grow profitably, ZTE will emphasize its higher-price products. In addition, ZTE will be among the first companies to launch a Firefox-powered smartphone this yea
