The worldwide mobile phone market saw year-on-year growth of 1.9 per cent in the final quarter of 2012 thanks to strong seasonal sales.
According to new research published by the International Data Corporation (IDC), sellers shipped a total of 482.5 million handsets during the three-month period, compared to 473.4 million in the same time in 2011.
Huawei also emerged as one of the top three smartphone makers for the first time, as the Chinese firm almost doubled its market share in the quarter.
Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst for IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said the high-growth smartphone market presents “ample opportunities” for challengers, despite the fact it is dominated by Samsung and Apple.
“Vendors with unique market advantages, such as lower-cost devices, can rapidly gain market share, especially in emerging markets,” he added.
ZTE is another manufacturer to have seen a successful final quarter of 2012, after shipping more smartphones than feature phones for the first time.
Meanwhile, tech giant Apple saw its sales more than double, activating around 6.2 million iPhones on Verizon alone in the US.
