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June 1 2003 The worldwide market for handsets grew in the first quarter of 2003, reflecting broad consumer interest in voice-enabled mobile devices. According to IDC's Worldwide Handset QView, worldwide handset shipments grew by 16.6% year-over-year in 1Q03 and dropped sequentially by 12.4% to 107.6 million units. Nokia maintained its top position in the market while LG Electronics replaced Sony Ericsson in the top 5. The evolution of colour displays, digital imaging, and converged handheld devices continues to drive growth in the worldwide handset market, said Ross Sealfon, research analyst in IDC's Smart Handheld Devices program. "Despite continued economic uncertainty, a strong first quarter supported by new technologies and form factors indicates healthy industry growth during 2003." Within the worldwide handset shipment total, the market for converged handheld devices, or 'smartphones,' is just beginning to accelerate. In the first quarter of 2003, the worldwide converged handheld device market grew 438.3% year-over-year and 37.6% sequentially to 1.76 million units. Reflecting the convergence of wireless voice and data capabilities, the market is expanding rapidly through new form factors, operating systems, and functionality. During the quarter, a number of new Palm OS, Pocket PC Phone Edition, Windows-powered Smartphone, and Symbian OS-powered converged handheld devices were introduced to the market. These devices join a number of newly shipping products, which will drive market expansion through 2003 and beyond. At the true intersection of handsets and personal computing, the converged handheld device market is just beginning to grow, said Alex Slawsby, research analyst in IDC's Smart Handheld Devices program. "Improvements in device form factor, coupled with carrier subsidies, are now putting converged handheld devices within the reach of the everyday consumer resulting in a mass market volume opportunity." Led by the availability of new handsets, including the 3650, Nokia shipped more than twice as many units as its closest competitor and maintained its leadership status. Of particular note, Nokia pushed the industry in new directions with the announcement of its N-Gage mobile gamedeck, 3300 music device, and 6800 messaging device. Motorola maintained the number 2 spot through a growing worldwide portfolio of color display devices and unique form factors. In contrast to prevailing industry trends, Samsung handset shipments increased 4.1% sequentially to 13.2 million units. Due to an aggressive product strategy and expanding worldwide carrier presence, LG moved into the top 5 during the first quarter with 30.7% sequential growth and 109.7% year-on-year growth to 5.6 million units.
Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
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