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Spillikins #75. Samsung Becomes the Leader in European Sales of Traditional Mobile Phones

Many readers expected that this Spillikins would be dominated by the main topic – the absurd campaign initiated by Nokia against me. You must have expected that and while I do not want to waste space in this review, I sincerely believe that I have to speak out. That is why my position is expressed in a separate article. If interested you can read it by following the link below.

Eldar Murtazin's Official Statement on Nokia Situation

Western Europe Chooses Samsung More Often Than Not

Last week Nokia got rid of its department responsible for the development of wireless modems. It was sold for around $200 million to the Japanese company Renesas. Nokia explains the move by their decision to concentrate on their core business activities. I think it is high time as IDC data for the first quarter of 2010 in Western Europe are stunning to say the least. For the first time Samsung overtook Nokia in sales of usual phones in Western Europe. The only stronghold for Nokia is smartphones. If we look at the market share fluctuations we will see Nokia lose 9% over the same period last year, while Samsung added 18%. Do you need any explanations?

According to IDC in 2010 Samsung has the chance to lead in all areas in Europe as they already lead in the segment of usual phones. I mentioned before that Samsung first enters the markets important for the brand image and drive Nokia out to the developing countries, where cheap products are in demand. It is a fragment of the overall strategy. The primary objective of Samsung is to generate demand for its phones in the mature markets, because the behavior of its consumers is copied in developing countries 1.5-2 years afterwards. I think you know what it means. Samsung has a lot to offer in terms of cheap models, but they leave this area for Nokia at the moment. The average price of Nokia phones is around €64, when Samsung has a much higher parameter. If you can win earning money there is no need to lose it.

Samsung is always followed by LG, which expands quite aggressively. The growth in Europe is also demonstrated by Apple and RIM as the rest of the players lose ground. At least for the time being. Many things will change soon. For example, Motorola is planning to be more prominent and Sony Ericsson doesn't want to fall behind either.

Top Western European Mobile Phone Vendors, Total Shipments and Market Share, 1Q10 (Units in Millions)
Vendor	1Q10 Unit Shipments	1Q10 Market Share	1Q09 Unit Shipments	1Q09 Market Share	1Q10/1Q09 Change
1. Nokia	14.0	32.8%	15.4	39.0%	-9%
2. Samsung	12.5	29.3%	10.6	26.8%	18%
3. LG	4.1	9.6%	3.5	8.9%	17%
4. Sony Ericsson	3.7	8.7%	5.9	14.9%	-37%
5. Apple	3.0	7.0%	0.9	2.3%	233%
6. Research in Motion	2.4	5.6%	1.1	2.8%	118%
Others	3.0	7.0%	2.1	5.3%	43%
Total	42.7	100%	39.5	100%	8%
Source: IDC European Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, June 2010 Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.

Top Western European Mobile Phone Vendors, Total Shipments and Market Share, 1Q10 (Units in Millions)
Vendor	1Q10 Unit Shipments	1Q10 Market Share	1Q09 Unit Shipments	1Q09 Market Share	1Q10/1Q09 Change
1. Nokia	4.9	40.8%	4.4	57.1%	11%
2. Apple	3.0	25.0%	0.9	11.7%	233%
3. Research in Motion	2.4	20.0%	1.1	14.3%	118%
4. HTC	0.9	7.5%	0.4	5.2%	125%
5. Samsung	0.3	2.5%	0.4	5.2%	-25%
6. Motorola	0.2	1.7%	0.1	1.3%	100%
Others	0.3	2.5%	0.4	5.2%	-25%
Total	12.0	100%	7.7	100%	8%
Source: IDC European Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, June 2010

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Nokia Maps Lead to Phones Reloads

The problems for any Nokia device can come from the unexpected. The company launches the new version of an application, not a software update and you have an unstable model on your hands. Unfortunately, the company has no time for proper tests of software and the impressions of numerous users are spoilt for good. I think we should ban the installation of updates the way it is handled by Nokia right now. Offer a separate firmware, make sure that every feature works well and the consumers will be grateful. But the race with no destination in mind makes the company release the software as it is.

The problem became obvious for those who updated OVI Maps on touchscreen models to version 3.4. The phones started reloading randomly. Nokia blames Joikuspot Premium for conflicts with maps. Nokia bulletin suggests updating this application, which presumably solves the issue. The feedback of users who have no such an application installed prove that the issue is still there and you have to disable the positioning via Wi-Fi to stop the horrible behavior of the phones.

Nokia bulletin is published here.

I can only advise not to update to 3.4. It is a safer bet.

Success means different figures for various companies. Nokia lives in a parallel world where 300,000 downloads of an application within 18 months is success. To my mind, the success for Nokia, which is not measured in millions, equals failure. And these millions should come during one or two months.

So, OVI Contacts came from beta version to commercial release and will now be featured in new phone models. What do we get? You can see the location of your friends, who use the similar application and chat with them.

Surprisingly, but OVI Contacts copy another application – Nokia Messaging Chat and the company has to decide, which one to develop in future. The developers understand this and said they choose Nokia Messaging Chat. You can read the official information here.

I have only one question. Why do you launch OVI Contacts if you know that its development was stopped and it will receive a replacement? I cannot explain such actions, which lack logic. There is no point and 300,000 downloads are hardly inspiring. This is not enough for Nokia, which has hundreds of millions of devices for this application.

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Android Prepares for a Leap Forward… with New Models

The slide with models names for T-Mobile and launch dates appeared on the web. One cannot say anything about the model but the names, but look at the slide. Pay attention to the companies mentioned. This is the plan of new models launch for T-Mobile until the end of the year. Surprisingly, it looks that Android rules the world alongside with Motorola and HTC. The market leader boasts only one device, Samsung has several offers. There are many models from LG. The world is changing and this is just the beginning. This year HTC plans to sell 24 million smartphone worldwide. At least this figure is often cited in different rumors. And everything is real as in Android segment the company feels quite confident.

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Google Nexus One – the Last of its Name

Google gave up the idea of creating its "own" phone without any fuss. The sales of Nexus One did not meet the expectations and Google technical support was not universally acclaimed by the customers. It is worth remembering that this was a pilot project and the second device in the series had to be manufactured by Motorola. The information was not secret, but the project failed to deliver.

Now Google is just trying to put up a good front. Bad sales of Nexus One were not due to mistakes or the model's defects. The market is not ready for such a scheme and the influence of mobile carriers could not be weakened. First of all, the consumers in the USA are not ready to pay the full amount for the phone and want to get subsidized solutions, which was not the case here. Under the circumstances Google had no interest in the project and it was smoothly shut down. Those who still believe it was the first independent Google phone can only receive my commiseration. I think everything was put into perspective and rightly so.

Do you want to talk about this? Please, go to our Forum and let your opinion to be known to the author and everybody else.

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Spillikins #75. Samsung Becomes the Leader in European Sales of Traditional Mobile Phones

Contents:

Western Europe Chooses Samsung More Often Than Not

Nokia Maps Lead to Phones Reloads

Android Prepares for a Leap Forward… with New Models

Google Nexus One – the Last of its Name

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