Apple surpasses Samsung as top US cellphone vendor

For the first time, Apple has surpassed Samsung in quarterly US cellphone shipments, according to new estimates by Strategy Analytics. During the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple shipped roughly 17.7 million units, while Samsung shipped 16.8 million. Until now, Samsung has been the leading US phone vendor since 2008; in Q4 2011, for instance, the numbers were 12.8 million and 13.5 million, respectively. The achievement may be particularly significant as the Strategy Analytics data includes not just smartphones, but basic "feature" phones as well. Apple only produces smartphones, while Samsung sells significant numbers of "feature" phones as well as smartphones.<br />
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LG came in third place last quarter with 4.7 million units, a decline from 6.9 million the year before. A combined group of "other" phone makers accounted for 12.8 million units in Q4 2012, down from 17.1 million in 2011. Samsung still fared better than Apple on a year-long basis, delivering 53 million units to the US during 2012 versus Apple's 43.7 million. LG recorded 20.5 million phones, and the remaining phone makers together produced 49.7 million.

Overall US cellphone shipments slipped from 186.8 million in 2011 to 166.9 million in 2012. During Q4 2012, though, they increased year-over-year from 50.2 million to 52 million.

and still

AAPL languishes.

(Thank you for re-enabling your 'old' comments system, MacNN)

What about "sales"?

How many of those respective "shipments" were sold and how many are sitting in vendor warehouses?

Sigh

And Apple stock will doubtless fall on this news because some idiotic analyst will find a way to see the gloom in it.

what a ride.

Talk about a seesaw news week

or better yet ....

Some analyst will find a way to turn this into good news for Amazon, and probably boost AMZN. The whole stock market / wall street is a complete joke.

It wasn't a seesaw news week.

The only seesaw was the stock price, which, as we've all seen, bears no relation to ACTUAL news.

The old comment system is back!!!

If only MacNN would bring back the voting too...

Miss my downvotes terribly

yeah

hope we go back to old ways, guest posting coming??.... yeah right

re:The old comment system is back!!!

Hey Arne! Good to see you :-) How are you buddy?

Yes I too miss all my downvotes terribly.