TAIPEI: HTC Corp edged out Samsung Electronics Co to become the largest smartphone vendor in the US, capitalizing on the Android platform's popularity and a lull in demand for iPhones to overtake Apple Inc and Research In Motion Ltd.
A 10 percentage-point jump in share from a year earlier gave Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC 24 per cent of the world's largest smartphone market in the third quarter, ahead of Samsung's 21 per cent, Palo Alto, California-based researcher Canalys said in a statement yesterday. Apple fell to third at 20 percent while RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, had 9 per cent.
HTC, which made the world's first phone using Google Inc's Android in 2008, benefited from strong relationships with US carriers and made different models for each operator. Apple'siPhone 4S and new devices from Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung may help the two global smartphone leaders gain share in the US this quarter as HTC forecasts its first shipment decline in almost two years.
"Because iPhone 4S wasn't yet ready during the quarter, there was a window of opportunity for others, and HTC benefited from this," said Wang Wanli, who rates the stock "buy" at RBS Asia Ltd in Taipei. "HTC has historically done more customization of handsets, which has made operators more willing to market and sell their devices."
Apple, Samsung
HTC sells its high-end models, which include faster processors and higher-quality cameras, for less than similar Samsung products, Wang said. Samsung offers more low-price models overall, bringing its average sales price below the Taiwanese company's, he said.
HTC and Samsung benefited from the rising popularity of the Android operating system, while Cupertino, California-based Apple was affected by consumers awaiting the next iteration of the iPhone, Canalys said. Android has 44 per cent of the US market for smartphones in use, Apple's iOS has 27 per cent, and the BlackBerry OS 20 per cent, Reston, Virginia-based ComScore said earlier this month.
Samsung and Apple are the two largest smartphone vendors globally, followed by Nokia Oyj, UK researcher Strategy Analytics said last week.
RIM's 'bleak' outlook
RIM, hit by a three-day worldwide outage last month, had its BlackBerry market share in the USdecline to 9 per cent from 24 per cent a year earlier, the biggest decline of all smartphone makers, Canalys said. Samsung climbed to 21 per cent from 14 per cent a year earlier, while Apple dropped from 26 per cent to 20 per cent.
BlackBerry's drop makes Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM's US outlook "certainly bleak," Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd wrote in the report. "RIM must deliver a competitive high-end 4G smartphone in early 2012."
The decline in demand for iPhones in the second half of last quarter was "substantial," Apple Chief Executive officer Tim Cook said in an October 18 conference call. The iPhone 4S sold 4 million units in its first weekend of sales beginning October 14, more than double the sales rate of the prior model, it said earlier this month.
HTC, founded in 1997 and now chaired by Taiwan's richest woman, Cher Wang, started as a contract maker of Compaq Computer Corp's iPaq personal digital assistant, among other devices.
Microsoft Phone
It was the first company to make a handset using Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system, and it manufactured most of its phones under operators' names before offering devices under its own.
The company posted six consecutive quarters of record sales and profit before forecasting on October 31 a decline in revenue and shipments this quarter, guidance that missed analyst expectations. The stock lost 0.6 per cent to NT$653 as of 11:45 am today in Taipei, headed for the lowest close since September 27, and has fallen 24 per cent this year.
RIM fell 4.5 per cent to $19.30 at the close in New York yesterday, and Apple dropped 2 per cent to $396.51.
Samsung is the world's largest maker of smartphones, flat- panel displays and memory chips. In addition to sales from its own handsets, it gains revenue from each iPhone sold because its chip unit manufactures the main processor used in Apple's phones and tablets.
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