Huawei, Lenovo boost standing in global smartphone market

Mainland hi-tech heavyweights Huawei Technologies and Lenovo have each chalked up hefty gains in the global smartphone market in the three months to June, leading the industry to a record total shipment of 295.3 million units during the quarter.

Huawei, the world's second-biggest telecommunications equipment supplier, saw nearly a twofold increase in smartphone shipments to 20.3 million units, up from 10.4 million a year earlier, for a 6.9 per cent market share, according to preliminary data from research firm IDC.

Personal computer market leader Lenovo followed with smartphone shipments that grew 38.7 per cent last quarter to 15.8 million units, up from 11.4 million the previous year, for a 5.4 per cent global market share.

IDC analysts pointed out that Huawei and Lenovo benefited from strong demand in their home market, where the central government aims to accelerate the expansion of 4G mobile services, and from rising international sales, especially to emerging markets.

"As the death of the [basic] feature phone approaches more rapidly than before, it is the Chinese vendors that are ready to usher emerging market consumers into smartphones," said Melissa Chau, a senior research manager at IDC.

Samsung Electronics remained the No1 smartphone supplier globally, but it was the only one among the top five-ranked companies to post no growth last quarter. Its shipments decreased 3.9 per cent year on year to 74.3 million units.