Nokia turning the corner with Windows Phone sales in the Middle East, outselling the iPhone

Reading time icon 2 min. read


Readers help support MSpoweruser. We may get a commission if you buy through our links. Tooltip Icon

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help MSPoweruser sustain the editorial team Read more

imageThe IDC has released some sales data from the Middle East in Q2 2013.

They revealed, like most places in the world, Android dominated, with 60% of the smartphone market, but that its growth has stalled, due to the iPhone and Nokia’s Windows Phones.

Apple’s iOS sales were 11.4% of the market in Q2, slightly down from Q1, while Nokia smartphone sales grew from 9.7% in Q1 to 11.8% in Q2.

The resurgence is attributed to Nokia’s cheaper Lumia handsets.

Surprisingly  Blackberry still held the second position in terms of smartphone sales in the Middle East, but the vast majority of its handset sales were their older BB7 models, with less than 1 in 6 of their phones sold being BB10 models.

Overall smartphone sales were growing in the Middle East, with more than 40% of handsets sold now Smartphones, up 16.4% YoY.

In terms of the total market Nokia still led with 45.2%, but the vast majority of its sales were feature phones.  In contrast second place Samsung only had 18.3% of the market, but had nearly 50% of the smartphone market.

Simon Baker, program manager for mobile handsets at IDC CEMA commented, "As the smartphone markets of the developed world become saturated, the Middle East is becoming more important to handset makers as it encompasses countries with high disposable incomes and a hunger for the latest mobile technologies. As such, we expect to see vendors increasing their marketing activities in the region and expanding distribution."

Via Hispanicbusiness.com

User forum

0 messages