Smartphone Shipments Jump 25 Percent in Second Quarter

Nearly 300 million smartphones were shipped in the second quarter of this year, up almost 25 percent from the same period last year, according to market-research firm International Data Corp.

Samsung remained the market leader, with 74.3 million units shipped. But that’s a decline from last year’s second quarter, when it shipped 77.3 million units, according to the release. Its market share declined from 32.3 percent to 25.2 percent.

Lenovo Group’s shipments grew 38.7 percent, from 11.4 million to 15.8 million. Its share of the smartphone market also rose, to 5.4 percent from 4.7 percent. Lenovo in January said it will buy Libertyville, Ill.-based cellphone maker Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91 billion.

Much of the growth in the smartphone industry is from emerging markets in Asia, South America and the Middle East, said Ramon Llamas, a research manager with IDC, driven by cheaper smartphone options.

“It’s all about price, it’s all about price,” Llamas said.

This article appeared in print in the July 31st, 2014 edition of Hamodia.