Date: 26/10/2010

Sony Ericsson ups its smart phone shipments by 15.4%, says iSuppli

iSuppli in its recent study said "Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB in the second quarter saw its smart phone shipments soar even as its overall cell phone shipment ranking declined, re?ecting the company's strategic shift away from lower-margin, higher-volume products and toward more pro?table devices".

Here are the iSuppli's some notable observations on Sony Ericsson and overall market:

1. The company's overall cell phone shipment ranking fell to sixth place in the second quarter, down from fourth in the first quarter. This marked the first time in at least three years that Sony Ericsson didn't rank among the Top 5 global cell phone brands. While shipments rose 4.8 percent compared to the first quarter, close rivals Research in Motion and ZTE surpassed Sony Ericsson because their growth rate was larger.

2. On the other side of the equation, Sony Ericsson achieved a 15.4 percent increase in smart phone shipments during the second quarter. This made Sony Ericsson the fourth fastest-growing smart phone brand during the second quarter.

4.Given that cell phone penetration has reached 73.4 percent of the earth's population, shipment growth is slowing markedly. Meanwhile, average pricing for mobile phones has declined to extremely low levels and will continue to decrease in the coming years. In contrast, smart phones and feature phones continue to offer fast growth and strong profit margins.

5. Global shipments of all kinds of cell phones are set to rise at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.9 percent from 2009 to 2014, down from the 13.9 CAGR for the period of 2003 to 2008. In contrast, smart phone shipments will rise by 22.7 percent from 2009 to 2014.

6. With its shift to the higher-end phone market, Sony Ericsson is mirroring the strategy of Motorola, which has been withdrawing from the market for mainstream cell phones in order to focus on its high-end Droid smart phone line. Sony Ericsson in 2010 entered the Android smart phone marketplace, and it has offered phones like the Xperia line that uses the Android operating system