40% of European smartphone buyers plan to buy iPhone next, 19% choose Android
An early look at the findings from the Yankee Group's 2011 European Mobile User Study revealed that 40 percent of European smartphone buyers plan on making the iPhone their next device, as compared to 19 percent for Android, BGR reported on Thursday. Also, 17 percent of respondents went with Research in Motion's BlackBerry, while 15 percent chose Nokia.
âThese findings highlight the continued strength of Apple in the European smartphone market and, in particular, its phenomenal brand appeal,â said Declan Lonergan, research VP at Yankee Group. âThe data also highlights the enormous challenges faced by Nokia and RIM to retain mind share and market share in this increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.â
The study polled 5,000 consumers and 2,250 employees and IT decision-makers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. Employees also said in the study that they are 58 percent more productive during long-distance travel with a tablet, and mobile users tended to have more than one device, switching between screens depending on context.
The findings come as analysts have suggested that Android may be poised lose some of its market share gains after two straight years of growth. Android lost share to the iPhone in the U.S. during the March quarter, driven in part by sales of the iPhone 4 on Verizon, which reached 2.2 million units by the end of March.
Europe is Apple's second best-performing region for the iPhone. As of the March quarter, Apple's smartphone market share stands at just above 20.8 percent in the area, behind only the handset's 30 percent market share in the U.S. By comparison, Android currently comprises 35.7 percent of smartphone sales in Western Europe.
iPhone's market share by region | Source: IDC
46 Comments
I am not really surprised about to numbers in this article. When ever I am traveling using public transportation in Erope, I see that the majority of people using mobile devices, actually use iOS devices rather than anything else.
About the graph below the article, if it is going to be reused more often, I strongly suggest to redraw it. How about using numbers?
I think that a lot of these will end up going for a cheaper android, unless apple does release a mid priced device. Then they will probably reach or even exceed their 40%.
Personally, I'd continue to buy the iphone, but I have invested in the ecosystem.
It's not clear from this survey what would reverse the trend - i.e. what's compelling European customers to favoring more iPhones when they have been buying more Androids for a while now. If the reason for favoring Androids is pricing, then nothing is changing. If it is anticipation for iPhone 5, then that initial excitement will wane and Europe will settle back into the current Android-iPhone ratio. Unless the US, there is no Verizon effect to stifle Android growth.
I think that a lot of these will end up going for a cheaper android, unless apple does release a mid priced device. Then they will probably reach or even exceed their 40%.
A subsidized phone is a subsidized phone. And "saving" $100 up front when you're going to be spending $100 or so a month for the next two years seems more than a little shortsighted...
What are the other 20% buying? What other phones are counted as smart phones?