The rise of Chinese mobiles!

Nokia which is facing heat from all corners has a diminished market share this quarter. Not because it sold less phones, but because every one else sold more phones. Nokia shipped 117.46 million phones which is 4 million more phones than it shipped in same quarter last year. Nokia’s market share then was 36.7%, now it is 28.2%. Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson has sold lesser units this quarter than they did in the same quarter last year. This is reflected in their reduced market share.  Apple almost doubled its shipments from last year and HTC has tripled its shipments.

The rise of Indian players and the increased sales from them should put them in the top league. Micromax and Spice has sold quite a few mobile phones off late and would probably figure in the top 20 list. And Indian mobile maker on the next quarter list would be a treat to watch.

Chinese mobile manufacturers which sell unbranded phones to other vendors have risen to the top. HTC, Huawei and ZTE has shipped 1.8 million mobile phones, and occupied the 7, 8 and 9 slots. Their combined market share is 4.3%. Even more staggering statistic is the 33% market share of others.Top 10 manufacturers have 67% market share and the rest have a market share of 33%. Of the 33%, many would be from China.

Micromax, Spice and Videocon of India source their mobile handsets from China and Taiwan. Similarly there are other brands across the world which source their phones from China. G’Five is a Chinese phone maker who is a predominant brand in India. If we add all this up, the share of Chinese manufacturers – who make and sell the phones – will go above 10%. Of course we shouldn’t neglect the fact that almost all the phones, including the iPhone are manufactured in China.

Mobiles are made in China and the operating system is made in the US. Is this the mobile world order?