HTC Corp (宏達電), the world’s largest maker of smartphones running on Windows Mobile and Android operating systems, saw its shipment growth outperform that of its rivals in the second quarter, solidifying its place as the world’s No. 4 smartphone brand, researcher iSuppli Corp said.
HTC saw smartphone shipments rise 63.1 percent in the second quarter compared with the first, with market share increasing to 8 percent from 5.3 percent, iSuppli said in a report last week.
“HTC’s Android success is attributed to wireless operators that intend to showcase the capabilities of their upgraded networks by offering sophisticated handsets to subscribers,” the report said.
For example, US wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp is selling HTC’s EVO 4G, a feature-packed Android handset that supports the WiMAX-based 4G network.
Meanwhile, on the strength of its Android-based Galaxy line of smartphones, No. 5 brand Samsung Electronics Co posted the second-highest shipment growth rate of 55.6 percent, with market share of 4.6 percent.
No. 8 smartphone brand Sharp Corp had the third-fastest growth of 48.7 percent, with market share of 1.8 percent, iSuppli said.
“Sharp only recently threw its hat into the Android arena in the fourth quarter; its advance in the second quarter was due to the company gaining market share in Japan,” the US-based firm said.
It singled out Motorola Inc, the world’s No. 6 smartphone brand, saying that despite relatively modest second-quarter growth of 12.5 percent, there are signs its decision to put all its eggs in the Android basket is paying off.
Motorola has experienced five consecutive quarters of growth, outgrowing the overall smartphone market in the last four quarters.
“From the spectacular growth of HTC and Samsung, to the steady advances of Motorola, Android is the secret sauce for smartphone growth for many companies this year,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli.
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