Global handset sales rose 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period, with Samsung Electronics Co gaining 3 percentage points in market share last year, market researcher Gartner Inc said.
The top five vendors continued to lose sales to Apple Inc and others, with their combined market share falling to 75.3 percent from 79.7 percent, Gartner said in a statement on Tuesday. Nokia Oyj and Samsung retained their top two positions for the year.
“Samsung was the clear winner among the top five, as a result of improved channel relationships with distributors,” Carolina Milanesi, an Egham, England-based research director at Gartner, said in the statement.
Nokia’s full-year share slipped to 36.4 percent from 38.6 percent, while Samsung’s rose to 19.5 percent and LG Electronics Inc surpassed Motorola Inc in full-year market share to 10.1 percent. Motorola and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd rounded out the top five. The share of other manufacturers, including unbranded Chinese phonemakers, advanced to 24.7 percent from 20.3 percent last year.
“Nokia will face a tough first half,” Milanesi said. “Its very strong mid-tier portfolio will help it hold market share, but its ongoing weakness at the high end will hurt its share of market value.”
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit today said in a written response that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and would not appeal in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets case. Last month, a court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron NT$150 million (US$4.74 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensitive chip technology.
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
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