Sales of mobile devices globally totalled 440.5 million units in the third quarter of 2011, a rise of 5.6%compared to the same period last year, according to IT research firm Gartner.
Annette Zimmermann principal analyst at Gartner based in Munich said the forecast for the end of the year remains broadly in line at a worldwide level as regions such as Asia/Pacific and the Middle East and Africa make up for weaker performance in the Western European market.
Smartphone sales to end users reached 115 million units in the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 42% from the third quarter of 2010.
However, smartphone sales slowed to 7% growth from the second quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of this year, the research firm said. Smartphone sales accounted for 26% of the total mobile phone sales, up from 25% in the previous quarter.
Nokia continues to be the global leader in mobile device sales, accounting for 23.9% of the worldwide sales.
Samsung became the top smartphone manufacturer in the world as sales to end users grew thrice year over year to reach 24 million. Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones take credit for this strong performance, Gartner says.
Apple shipped 17 million iPhones, an annual increase of 21%, but 3 million units less compared to the second quarter of 2011 because of Apple’s new device announcement in October.
Gartner is of the belief that Apple would bounce back in the fourth quarter because of its strongest ever pre-orders for the iPhone 4S in the first weekend following its announcement.
