Gartner: Nokia Held Off Apple in Smartphone Sales in 2Q 2011

Late last month, Apple made headlines when a series of research firms including IDC, Strategy Analytics and ABI Research all announced that Apple had passed Nokia and held off Samsung to become the world's largest smartphone vendor by volume during the second quarter of 2011. But all of those firms study the mobile phone market based on shipments from the manufacturers out to the distribution channels, not end sales to users.

Gartner today revealed its data based on final end-user sales, showing that Nokia did indeed hold off Apple for the title for the title of top-selling smartphone vendor by that metric. The key to the difference in assessments is that Nokia substantially reduced its handset volume shipped out for distribution, opting instead to dramatically pare down stocks already in the channel.

“The sales efforts of the channel, combined with Nokia’s greater concentration in retail and distributors’ sales, saw Nokia destock more than 9 million units overall and 5 million smartphones, helping it hold on to its position as the leading smartphone manufacturer by volume,” said Ms. Cozza. “However, we will not see a repeat of this performance in the third quarter of 2011, as Nokia’s channel is pretty lean.”

Nokia is transitioning its smartphone lineup from its own Symbian operating system to Windows Phone 7, and thus it makes sense that the manufacturer is prioritizing discounted sales of Symbian handsets already out for distribution to help speed that transition. But even accounting for the distribution channel drawdown, Nokia's smartphone business is struggling, with sales to end users actually falling slightly year-over-year as the overall smartphone market and sales from many of the the top vendors are growing dramatically.

gartner smartphone platforms 2Q11
Gartner highlights smartphone sales by operating system rather than manufacturer, showing that Google's Android operating system has continued its momentum that has led the platform to a commanding lead with 43.4% of the smartphone market during the quarter when looking at sales to end users. Symbian took second place with 22.1% of the market while Apple's iOS took third place with 18.2%

Top Rated Comments

ChazUK Avatar
161 months ago
Perhaps there is still hope in the future, Microsoft has deep pockets.

Well said. Those deep pockets made XBOX an eventual success so you never know. :)

I just find the WP7 UI and experience so different to Symbian/Windows Mobile/Android/iOS that is is refreshing to use and it performs very well despite the (now) low end specifications it's running on.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
161 months ago
Microsoft have a massive investment in Gartner, creating a conflict of interests which affects its reporting on Nokia (now Nokia is contracted to use Win Phone 7):

http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Gartner_Group (http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Gartner_Group)

Not attacking your post, but I am not sure what you are getting at. Both Nokia, and Microsoft show an overall decrease in the above posted chart.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erzhik Avatar
161 months ago
Who there hell is buying Nokia phones?

I don't know anyone who owns one anymore. To be fair though I don't know a lot of people. haha

The entire world buys Nokia phones except US.

Oh God, this apple fanboyism is pathetic. Nokia held Apple off, why are you so butthurt? Who cares who held off who, competition is always good and it's clear that Nokia still holds their feet.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
samcraig Avatar
161 months ago
Funniest thread ever. When Apple is ahead - all praise Apple and no one questions the data.

Then a report comes out stating something different and it's condemned and people start poking holes in the report.

FUNNY
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dgree03 Avatar
161 months ago
I didn't even realize Symbian was a smart phone OS.

That just shows how much you dont know about Nokias smartphone domination and innovation starting from the early 2000's. They have lost their mojo tho.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nd572 Avatar
161 months ago
I am actually looking forward to the new Nokia Windows phones, I have a feeling they are going to produce a bigger competitor to the iphone than people are giving them credit for.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...