As if we need yet another example of the unprecedented growth of mobile phone shipments, the latest research from Strategy Analytics indicates that global mobile phone shipments grew 7 percent annually to reach 515 million units in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The research giant says it was the first time worldwide mobile phone shipments blew past the half-billion-unit threshold.
The big winner for the quarter, among vendors, was Apple. The iDevice maker secured a record 14 percent marketshare, due to strength in the US and China.
Apple reported on Tuesday that it sold nearly 75 million iPhones last quarter.
“Global mobile phone shipments grew 7 percent annually from 481.5 million units in Q4 2013 to 515.0 million in Q4 2014,” says Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics. “It was the first time worldwide mobile phone shipments have exceeded a half-billion units in a single quarter. Smartphones accounted for 7 in 10 of total mobile phone shipments during the quarter. The 7 percent growth rate of the overall mobile phone market is being driven by healthy demand for 3G and 4G models across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Handset shipments reached 1.8 billion units globally in full-year 2014, an all-time high for the industry.”
