Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales in 4Q10 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)
Research firm IDC yesterday released results for global mobile phone unit shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010, showing Apple slipping to fifth place behind Nokia, Samsung, LG and a surging ZTE. Apple had entered the top five in fourth place last quarter on the strength of the iPhone 4 release, garnering 4.1% of the market, and dropped slightly this quarter to 4.0% as a booming market offset Apple's own unit growth. But on a year-over-year basis, Apple's 86.2% growth easily outpaced the overall market's 17.9% expansion.
The iPhone maker slipped to the number 5 position despite a record quarter for unit shipments and the departure soon thereafter of CEO Steve Jobs on medical leave. It was the company's second straight quarter on IDC's Top 5 list. The iPhone sold particularly well in developed regions of the world, such as North America and Western Europe. Apple, which said it could have sold more iPhones last quarter had it been able to make more, is set to introduce the touchscreen device on Verizon next month.
Despite only appearing in the top five for the final two quarters of the year, Apple was also able to make the list for full-year 2010, shipping 47.5 million iPhones to snag fifth place with 3.4% of the overall mobile phone market. Apple's shipment increased 89.2% in 2010, well ahead of the overall market's 18.5% growth for the year and enough to push Apple's share of the market to 3.4% from the previous year's 2.1%.
Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales in 2010 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)
Thursday February 12, 2026 11:17 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to release an iPhone 17e and an iPad Air with an M4 chip "in the coming weeks," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple retail employees say that inventory of the iPhone 16e has basically dried out and the iPad Air is seeing shortages as well," said Gurman. "I've been expecting new versions of both (iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air) in the coming weeks."...
Friday February 13, 2026 2:01 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to launch a rebranded "Sales Coach" app on the iPhone and iPad later this month, according to a source familiar with the matter.
"Sales Coach" will arrive as an update to Apple's existing "SEED" app, and it will continue to provide sales tips and training resources to Apple Store and Apple Authorized Reseller employees around the world. For example, there are articles and videos...
Friday February 13, 2026 8:43 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still seven months away, an analyst has revealed five new features the devices will allegedly have.
Rumored color options for the iPhone 18 Pro models
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities on Thursday, analyst Jeff Pu outlined the following upgrades for the iPhone 18 Pro models:
Smaller Dynamic Island: It has been rumored...
Friday February 13, 2026 4:18 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple has a long list of new products rumored for 2026, including a series of home products that will see the company establishing more of a presence in the smart home space. Robots are on the horizon for 2027, but the 2026 releases will be a little tamer.
HomePod mini
We're expecting a new HomePod mini 2 to launch at any time. Apple isn't going to update the device's design, but we could...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.
We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
