Andre Yoskowitz
26 Feb 2014 11:41
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has released their European smartphone data figures for the Q4 2013, and there were some interesting tidbits.
Android remained king, with 68.5 percent market share, followed by Apple at 19 percent and Windows Phone cracking a milestone barrier at 10.1 percent.
Reads the report: "In Europe Android continues to move towards 70% share, and the real battle now is among the Android manufacturers. Samsung is dominant, with 39.5% of sales, but this is lower compared with last year. Its position is being eroded by the likes of LG (6.9%), Sony (9.4%) Motorola (1.7%) and new brand Wiko (2%) which are all increasing their share of sales. All of these brands will be hoping their new releases at Mobile World Congress will be well received and help boost performance in 2014."
The Lumia 520/521 remains the most popular Windows Phone device, offering a great basic smartphone for less than $100 off-contract:
"Nokia has continued its successful tactic of sucking up remaining featurephone owners across Europe. Even in Britain, where smartphone penetration is at 70%, there are over 14 million featurephone consumers for it to target. At some point Nokia will have to start making serious inroads into the smartphone competition, but for the time being its strategy in Europe is working. Crucial for Nokia will be its ability to keep low-end owners loyal and upgrade them to mid to high-end models."
Another interesting note was that phablet owners (smartphones with screens larger than 5.2-inches), have been downsizing to smaller devices for their upgrades, with 40 percent moving to smaller devices.