Apple continues to gain US smartphone share as iOS hits 27%
Apple's stateside share of the smartphone market continued to grow last quarter, with the iPhone representing 27 percent of the domestic mobile operating system market.
Apple's stateside share of the smartphone market continued to grow last quarter, with the iPhone representing 27 percent of the domestic mobile operating system market.
Following Google's purchase of Motorola, a new report claims that Apple is still interested in acquiring InterDigital, as are Nokia, Qualcomm and others in the wireless industry.
Following Google's bid to purchase Motorola Mobility, Apple is predicted to strike a deal — perhaps with competitors Nokia or RIM — to consolidate its already significant patent portfolio and better position itself both offensively and defensively.
Apple's iOS and Google Android have more than doubled their collective smartphone market share in the last year, and now represent nearly two-thirds of all devices sold, according to Gartner.
China, one major market where Nokia remains the leading smartphone vendor, is expected to see a "drastic realignment" in the coming months as Apple expands to new carrier partners.
Apple's iOS has surpassed Nokia's Symbian to become the world's second largest smartphone platform with a 19 percent market share, behind only Android's 48 percent share with multiple manufacturers, according to the latest figures from Canalys.
Apple's share of the mobile phone industry's profits has swelled to around two thirds, as the company's iPhone sales have remained profitable while achieving the top spot in sales.
Just four years after releasing the iPhone, Apple has managed to pass Nokia and fend off a challenge from Samsung in the second quarter on its way to a new milestone as the world's No. 1 smartphone maker in terms of volume.
A massive iPhone shipment increase of 141.8 percent year over year gave Apple a growth rate more than 12 times that of the global mobile phone market in the second quarter, leaving the company poised to overtake LG as the No. 3 handset maker in the world.
Nokia posted its quarterly earnings report on Thursday, revealing Apple has surpassed it to become the No. 1 global seller of smartphones, and also disclosing a $600 million one-time royalty payment that likely includes its new licensing agreement with Apple.
Both Nokia and Apple have remained mum on the financial terms of their patent lawsuit settlement, but a glimpse at the deal Apple was able to broker is expected to be seen in next week's quarterly earnings report.
Apple this week was awarded an iPhone-related patent first filed in December of 2007, a victory that intellectual property experts believe will be significant.
Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said Tuesday that his company expects to begin selling its first phones running Windows Phone later this year, before ramping up volume shipments in 2012.
Apple's cash is expected to top $70 billion at the conclusion of its current fiscal quarter, a sum so massive it could buy out rivals Nokia, Research in Motion, HTC and Motorola Mobility, according to a new analysis.
Though Apple will pay Nokia a one-time sum and ongoing royalties as a result of their new settlement, one analyst believes the timing of the agreement suggests Apple was able to negotiate a favorable outcome.
Nokia announced on Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement with Apple ending a lengthy legal battle between the two corporations, with both companies agreeing to withdraw their complaints to the International Trade Commission.
An inevitable shakeup in worldwide smartphone rankings is set to take place in the coming months, when Apple is expected to surpass Nokia in smartphone sales, and Samsung will become the world's largest smartphone maker.
IDC released new long-term forecasts for worldwide smartphone operating systems on Thursday, predicting that Apple's iPhone will fall from 18.2 percent market share in 2011 to 16.9 percent in 2015.
Nokia reacted quickly on Wednesday to a report claiming its phone business was acquired by Microsoft for $19 billion, calling it "baseless." But one Wall Street analyst had another word to describe a hypothetical deal between the two companies, at least for Apple investors: "heaven."
The U.S. International Trade Commission announced Thursday that it will conduct a review of two of Nokia's patents in an infringement case against Apple, while dropping the remaining three from the investigation.
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