Metrics house hails Apple DOMINANCE of X-Mas phone 'n' slab sales

Apple was by far the most popular brand of phones and tablets this Christmas, according to market researchers.

A report from mobile app and ad analytics firm Flurry found that more than half of all phones and tablets activated worldwide from December 19 through December 25 were made by the Cupertino giant.

Apple's 51.3 per cent share of activations was by far the best among all manufacturers. Samsung was a distant second with 17.7 per cent, followed by Microsoft (née Nokia) with 5.8 per cent, Sony with 1.6 per cent, and LG with a 1.4 per cent share of the market.

Flurry estimates that for every device Samsung sold over the Christmas week, Apple shifted 2.9 iPhones/iPads. For Microsoft, every activation was met with Apple bringing 8.8 iThings online.

"It's clear that Santa is no longer into cookies – he prefers Apples," said Flurry vice president of analytics Jarah Euston. "It was a banner Christmas for the Apple, the company that started the mobile revolution with the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007."

Overall, the report found that most of the sales on Christmas week were midsized smartphones, which accounted for 64 per cent of activations. Large-screen "phablets" were 13 per cent of the market, while small- and large-screen tablets each claimed 11 per cent.

Apple was well-positioned in the midsize market, having recently revamped its iPhone line to feature a larger screen, in line with those offered by competing Android devices. The company also moved into the phablet space with the iPhone 6 Plus.

According to Flurry, the iPhone 6 was indeed the most activated device of the week, while the iPhone 6 Plus was fifth on the list.

"This Christmas, it appears even more consumers are switching to the larger phone now that there is an iOS option," Euston wrote. "In the week leading up to Christmas, 13 per cent of new device activations were phablets compared to just 4 per cent in 2013." ®

Bootnote

No, the world hasn't gone topsy-turvy; Samsung remains the leading smartphone vendor worldwide. Apple's apparent dominance during the December 19 week is likely a reflection of the fact that the Christmas gift-giving isn't really a big deal in the Asian markets, where Sammy and Chinese makers like Xiaomi and ZTE are the undisputed kings.

Sponsored: Driving business with continuous operational intelligence

from ffffff http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/29/metrics_house_predicts_apple_dominance_of_xmas_sales/

via IFTTT