Samsung leads the way with 46.9 million smartphones shipped in Q1

Data from mobile analyst firm Juniper Research shows Samsung and Apple trading places once again in the smartphone market, in what is increasingly becoming a two-horse race. In the first quarter of 2012 to end-March, the company estimates that nearly 60 per cent of the 139 million smartphones shipped worldwide carried either the Apple (35.1 million) or Samsung (46.9 million) brand – up from 46 per cent in the last three months of 2011. While Apple and Samsung have taken it in turns to lead the smartphone market over the last four quarters, it seems as if Samsung may now have established a firm lead in this space – shipping 11.8 million more units than Apple in Q1, according to Juniper Research.

The analyst firm believes that HTC appears to be following Nokia and Research In Motion (RIM) in taking-stock of where it’s best strategy lies. Nokia’s Lumia launches do not appear to have kick-started a revival yet, with the Finnish company shipping just 11.9 million smart devices in the first quarter – less than half the number it shipped in the same period a year previously. RIM’s recent results hinted at continuing problems for the Canadian firm. However, with Juniper forecasting that smartphone shipments will nearly double over the next five years – from nearly 600 million in 2012 to 1.1 billion by 2017 – there are still plenty of opportunities for other players to make gains in this market.