US MOBILE OS MARKET SHARE FULL
US MOBILE OS MARKET SHARE WINDOWS

In 2007 Canalys expects that activity around Linux will increase as more vendors look to move away from older proprietary phone operating systems, while Microsoft will receive a boost from the arrival of new models, and new brands, coming to market using Windows Mobile 6.0.

In operating system terms, for the full year, Canalys estimates that Symbian had 67% share, up from 63% in 2005, Microsoft was in second with a slightly reduced 14% share, RIM came in third on 7% followed by Linux on 6% and ACCESS/PalmSource with the Garnet OS on 5%.

Shipments of the latter fell 33% to 5.6 million units. Wireless handheld shipments in 2006 rose 44% from 5.3 million in 2005 to 7.5 million, overtaking their unconnected handheld predecessors. But it will need to continue renewing and expanding its portfolio and ensure that the propositions of each model remain clear if it wants to stay in the top five during 2007,вЂќ Lashford added.Д¬analys estimates that global smart phone shipments for the full year reached 64.1 million units, up from 39.4 million in 2005, equating to annual growth of 63%. Having both Walkman-branded and keyboard-based devices means it can target a variety of end-user types. вЂњSony EricssonвЂ™s increased shipments were not solely down to Japan though, as it has extended its smart phone range again with the W950. RIM and HTC have also entered this challenging territory, but are yet to see significant volumes Lashford says. Sony Ericsson performed well there in Q4 against the strong, local Symbian-based vendors, namely Fujitsu, Mitsubishi and Sharp. Overall market leader Nokia, however, still ships more than half of its smart phones in EMEA, with Asia-Pacific also accounting for over 40% and North America being its weakest area by far. Meanwhile almost three-quarters of both PalmвЂ™s and RIMвЂ™s shipments are in North America. вЂњShipment volumes of MotorolaвЂ™s Linux smart phones in Asia, particularly China, still significantly overshadow those of its Windows Mobile вЂQвЂ™ in North America.вЂќД¬analys estimates that Linux devices represented more than 90% of the 1.5 million smart phones shipped by Motorola in Q4 2006. вЂњThe regional delineation of the top market players remains quite striking,вЂќ said Singapore-based Canalys senior analyst Rachel Lashford. Although Palm had new smart phones on both the Windows Mobile and Garnet OS platforms in EMEA and the Asia-Pacific region, its usually strong, consumer-led Q4 was impeded by a fall of 45% in worldwide shipments of handhelds, in line with market trends. RIM retained its position as the leading smart mobile device vendor in North America, ahead of Palm for the second quarter running. A full quarterвЂ™s sales of its new вЂPearlвЂ™ smart phone, positioned as a more consumer-oriented e-mail device than its other models, helped it increase overall device shipments by 54% year-on-year.

Despite increasing pressure from competitors in the mobile e-mail space, RIM performed well this quarter. Converged device shipments (smart phones and wireless handhelds) rose 42%, while unconnected handhelds posted their largest fall yet, down 41% compared to the same period one year ago.Д¬analys estimates that Nokia shipped 11.1 million smart phones in the quarter, with its popular Symbian S60-based Nseries devices, particularly the N73, continuing to drive the volume. Year-on-year market growth for all smart mobile devices combined shifted down to 30%, compared to the 50% seen in Q3 2006, but unit volumes still hit a new quarterly peak of 22.1 million. Its EMEA smart phone shipments were also considerably higher than in previous quarters thanks to the arrival of new models. Palm remained in fourth, while Sony Ericsson broke into fifth place for the first time since Q2 2004, thanks largely to shipments of FOMA devices in Japan. Nokia retained its lead, while RIM moved up a place into second, nudging ahead of Motorola.

Highlights from the Canalys Q4 2006 global smart mobile device researchД¬analysвЂ™ latest market estimates show that Nokia, RIM, Motorola and Palm each held onto a place among the top five worldwide smart mobile device vendors in Q4 2006, but some positions changed.

But handheld shipments fell 41% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Combined shipments of smart phones and wireless handhelds (вЂњconverged devicesвЂќ) were up 42%.

Sony Ericsson gets back into top five for the first time since early 2004.

RIM returns to second place, with device shipments rising 54% year-on-year in the quarter.

Nokia remains market leader in Q4, accounting for 50% of all shipments.

Total smart mobile device shipments for 2006 were 77 million, of which 64 million were smart phones.

18 million were smart phones, 2.5 million wireless handhelds and 1.5 million handhelds.

Global shipments of all smart mobile devices rose 30% year-on-year in Q4 2006 to hit 22 million.

US MOBILE OS MARKET SHARE FULL

Us mobile os market share