GLOBAL: Apple overtakes ZTE as fourth-largest handset maker

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is moving past its competitors with a record-breaking 18.6 million iPhones shipped for the latest quarter, according to analysts at IDC and Strategy Analytics. In the process, Apple overtook ZTE Corp. for fourth place and, according to IDC, claimed a 5% market share of the world’s handsets, dropping ZTE from an overall ranking of fourth to fifth. Strategy Analytics figures Apple’s market share at 5.3%. Either standard is impressive considering that Apple relies exclusively on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS to make such enormous strides.
ZTE said it would increase smartphone shipments to 12 million units, an increase of 3million from its 2010 numbers, as it performs strongly in China and Latin America. Despite the slip by ZTE, analysts said that Apple and ZTE both did very well for the quarter.
The smartphone market continues to grow with IDC claiming a 19.8% growth rate and Strategy Analytics placing growth at 17%. IDC places Q1 shipments overall at 372 million and Strategy Analytics holds a more conservative estimate of 350 million.
Top place handset shipments went to Nokia Corp.,(NOK), followed by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. in third place. Both research companies said that all three top firms lost market share for the quarter.
Samsung’s focus on the Galaxy handsets explained how it shipped approximately 70 million units in Q1, with 18% of the company’s shipments credited as smartphones in a major increase from 4% the same time last year. LG reportedly lost ground due to its focus on feature phones and Nokia struggled in the U.S. market and with its array of 3G smartphones.