The latest report on the smart mobile device market (defined as “handhelds, wireless handhelds and smartphones”) from research firm Canalys reveals that APAC device sales in the Asia-Pacific region have overtaken those in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) for the first time as smart mobile device Q1 2006 global shipments increased 55 percent compared to the same period last year. Nokia remains the top vendor with a 51 percent marketshare. In second place is now RIM which bumped Palm down to third. Mitsubishi and Sharp followed in fourth and fifth.
A look at the traditional handheld market shows a 25 percent decline with four of the top five vendors (Palm, HP, Dell and Acer) all showing double-digit decreases.“It is in the converged device arena that we are seeing the biggest changes,” said Canalys senior analyst and research manager Rachel Lashford. No wonder Palm and HP are switching gears.
A look at the story on operating systems shows Symbian’s global share in smart mobile devices at a record high of 69 percent followed by Microsoft at 12 percent.