Smartphone Sales For Apple And Samsung Increase 43 Percent

Smartphone sales are providing a huge boost for Apple and Samsung coffers. Collectively, their US sales rose 43 percent in the second quarter of 2012 as compared to the same time frame in 2011.

In the face of the Apple/Samsung smartphone domination, their various brand competitors in this quarter experienced a 16 percent drop in unit sales. Total smartphone unit sales increased nine percent in the quarter, apparently driven by prepaid device sales.

Smartphone market share in the quarter for Apple totaled 31 percent and 24 percent for Samsung, according to CNET. HTC, Motorola, and LG lagged behind.

Earlier this month, the Consumer Electronics Association reported that the mobile industry, primarily in the form of smartphones and tablets, will propel overall US consumer electronics sales to a record-setting $206 billion this year.

The NPD Group, which compiled the Apple/Samsung sales data, explained that “by concentrating on their best, flagship devices, while at the same time supplementing their volumes with lower priced alternatives, both Apple and Samsung are extending their lead over the other smartphone makers.”

Prepaid smartphones marketed to a new set of customers are providing the industry a big boost too, with a 91 percent sales surge over the last year at this time.

The NPD Group noted that “carriers have been smart to aggressively market some of their best current smartphones on a prepaid basis to a new set of customers, in order to keep sales humming along.”

Also, lower-income individuals are getting on the smartphone bandwagon. Some 33 percent of those with household incomes under $35,000 bought a smartphone in the quarter as compared with 24 percent last year at this time.

Why are Apple and Samsung cleaning up in smartphone market? The NPD Group thinks it knows the answer: “By concentrating on their best, flagship devices, while at the same time supplementing their volumes with lower priced alternatives, both Apple and Samsung are extending their lead over the other smartphone makers.”

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