Global smartphone sales exploded in 2012: Surveys
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An Apple iPhone 4S and a Samsung Galaxy S are seen in this file illustration photo taken in Berlin on Aug 27, 2012. Global smartphone sales soared in 2012, taking a huge slice of a mobile market that was otherwise flat, survey data showed today. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Global smartphone sales soared in 2012, taking a huge slice of a mobile market that was otherwise flat, survey data showed today.
Research firm Strategy Analytics said global smartphone shipments grew 43 per cent to 700 million units in 2012, with South Korea's Samsung capturing more than 30 per cent of the market and extending its lead over Apple and others.
The report showed smartphones accounted for close to half of the 1.6 billion mobiles sold in 2012. With all phones combined, the market grew just two per cent, according to the report highlighting a shift to smartphones.
The report showed Apple holding 19.4 per cent of the global smartphone market, trailing Samsung at 30.4 per cent.
