Apple gains ground in smartphone market

SAN FRANCISCO: Industry tracker comScore has reported that Apple gained ground in the US smartphone market, nibbling into the lead held by handsets powered by Google’s Android software.
Apple’s share of the US smartphone market climbed nearly three percent to 39 percent in the first three months of this year, making the California company the most popular handset maker in the country, according to comScore.
The Android platform that Samsung, HTC, LG and other manufacturers use to power devices still reigned supreme, but its overall share of the US market slipped 1.4 percent to 54 percent, comScore reported.
Smartphones powered by Microsoft Windows software rose a smidgen to three percent of the market, while the portion held by BlackBerry devices slipped more than a percent to 5.2 percent, according to comScore.
South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung remained the second most popular smartphone maker with 21.7 percent of the US market, followed by HTC, Motorola and LG with 9 percent, 8.5 percent, and 6.8 percent respectively.
The number of US smartphone owners climbed nine percent to 136.7 during the quarter, comScore reported.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC said earlier it expects a sharp rise in second-quarter revenue thanks to a new model, following record quarterly low sales in January-March.
First-quarter revenue was Tw$ 42.8 billion ($ 1.45 billion) and net profit slumped 98.1 percent year-on-year to a record low of Tw$85 million.
But chief executive officer Peter Chou forecast that second-quarter revenue would surge more than 60 percent compared to the first quarter, to Tw$ 70 billion.
“This was a pivotal quarter for HTC,” he told an investor conference.
“In February our teams set a new standard for smartphones, launching the new HTC One. The reviews of fans and critics alike have been overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to delivering on the promise of this device.”
The Android-based model, sporting a 4.7-inch (12 cm) touchscreen and front-facing speakers, was unveiled in London and New York in February .
Chou had hailed it as a “technological breakthrough” as he battles fierce competition from the Apple iPhone and Samsung’s newly released Galaxy S4.
However the firm has a tough fight on its hands.
Research firm IDC said HTC held a 4.6 percent share of the global smartphone market in 2012, a sharp decline from 8.8 percent a year earlier.

Samsung held a 30.3 percent stake while Apple had 19.1 percent.