Apple, Samsung, Nokia and Blackberry Smartphones Comparison - Case Study Example

Apple, Samsung, Nokia and blackberry smart phones comparison between these 4 companies. Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Global Smart phone Industry Overview 4 Main Body 10 Apple 10 Nokia 12 BlackBerry 13 Samsung 14 Issue 15 Discussion 15 Conclusion 18 Reference 18 Introduction The world of 21st century is continuously growing and developing at a very first pace. The evolution of the telecommunication technology in the last part of the 90’s decade as well as the high level of penetration of high speed internet technology all over the world in the early part of the 20’s decade has created a revolutionary change in the process of human interactions worldwide. As a result of continuous change in lifestyle and workplace trends, it can be said that the human beings are facing a tremendous shortage of time for the purpose of indulging in social activities in the real world. This has further led to the fast embracing of modern technology handheld gadgets like the Smart phones and tablets and I pads, which provide people all over the world with the virtual internet based platform to connect with their friends and relatives located in various parts and corners of the world. The changing lifestyle trends of the masses all over the world along with the desire to stay connected and aware of the happenings and events in the lives of their near and dear ones by the process of getting updates in their social networking profiles has also played a major role in the tremendous acceptance of Smart phones all over the world. As a matter of fact, in an order to capitalize on the growing demands of data based technology services like the internet in the recent times, various telecom service providing companies has focused on the process of bundled offering of products and services, thereby offering the customers with high value internet services for their mobiles and gadgets at very competitive rates. Global Smart phone Industry Overview It can be said that the global smart phone market is currently dominated by two of the largest and most popular mobile manufacturers namely Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics, while talking in terms of revenue generation, sales and share of the markets in the global arena. Talking from the statistical point of view, it can be said that the shipping statistics of the second quarter of the year 2012 highlighted that Apple iOS and Samsung Android based smart phones comprised almost 85% of the total shipments (IDC.com -1, 2012)1. Source: Thompson, 2012 2 Talking about the market sentiments that was existing around the middle of 2012, during the period of launch of I-phone 5 in the United States, a research which was undertaken by AYTM along with Mashable stated that current owners of Android phones in the United States are looking forward to move to I-phones within the next 6 months (Price, 2012)3 . Source: Price, 2012 The survey also revealed that around a majority percent of the total smart phone owners in the United States own an Android based smart phones, while another significant chunk of owners own an I-phone. The rest of the market is captured by the smart phone makers like Blackberry, Nokia and several other brands. With the launch of the new I-phone 5, it is being expected that the market of Apple I-phone slightly increase in the United States, while that of the Android ones will decrease to some extent. Source: Price, 2012 The survey also revealed that around twice the total number of customers are interested in buying a smart phone of Apple as compared to an Android based one (Mazin, 2012)4. Source: Mazin, 2012 In the recent times, the two leading smart phone manufacturers were engaged in a global law suit fight over possible patent infringement issues, which were won by Apple. However, despite the winning of the lawsuit by Apple, the global market of Smart phones is currently dominated by Samsung’s Android based phones, which has a market share of more than 75% (Slashdot.org, 2012)5. In terms of future trends, it can be said that the global mobile market is expected to grow at the rate of around 1.4% on a year on year basis in the year 2013. (IDC.com -2, 2012)6. Talking about long term trends, the mobile and smart phone market around the world is expected to be valued at around $341billion in the year 2015, with smart phones comprising to around 75% of the total revenue generation (Marketsandmarkets.com, 2010)7. Main Body In the recent times, the Smartphone market all over the world is dominated by global telecom manufacturers like Apple, Nokia, BlackBerry, and Samsung. In an effort to understand the nature and level of competition that is existent in the smart phone market all over the world, a detailed analysis of the global smart phone manufacturers is being conducted. The detailed view will comprise of an analysis of the Smartphone manufacturers with regards to their histories, core competencies, product offerings as well as the technology and operating platforms used in their smart phone devices. Apple Apple is one of the most innovative global brands which have gained a wide range of recognition for its high quality and innovative products in various markets all over the world. The company has its headquarters in the United States. The company’s products are available in various markets all over the world. During the initial days, the company’s product offerings were mostly computers of desktop categories, but with time, the company has diversified in to laptops, IPods, I-phones and I-pads (Apple.com, 2012, p. 4)8. The I-phones of Apple, which is actually the smart phone of the company runs on an operating system called iOS. The company also has a wide range of service based offerings that complements the innovative products of the company. The company’s highly popular brand logo communicates the features like high quality as well as innovation for its products and as a result, carries high brand equity in the recent times. The smart phone of the company is the Apple I-phone, which in the recent times has recorded global sales of 26.9 million, thereby enabling the company to post quarterly revenue of around $36 billion (Apple Press Info, 2012)9. The unique selling features of Apple’s I-phones are mostly the fact that the products are high on quality as well as innovative features. Nokia The mobile brand Nokia belongs to Nokia Corporation, which is a Finland based company. The company has presence in all major markets around the world, thereby having a global consumer base. In the recent times, the company’s product offerings comprise of the newly launched smart phones as well as other latest technology based mobile accessories (Nokia -a, 2012)10. Most of the latest technology smart phones of Nokia run on the Symbian series operating system, which is the patented mobile operating system of the company. Talking in terms of global demand for its mobile products, it can be said that the Finland based company is facing a tremendous amount of competition due to highly advanced and innovative product offerings offered by the competitors, especially in the Smartphone segment. This has led to the significant fall of sales of its Smartphone products as per reports dated to 2011 (Nokia -b, 2011, p.10)11. BlackBerry BlackBerry is the brand belonging to the global company Research in Motion (RIM), which is headquartered in Ontario, in Canada. It is recognized worldwide as a global innovator in wireless communication technology which played a major role in catalyzing the emergence of the global demands of Smart phones. The company is present in most of the global markets like North America, Latin America, Europe as well as Asia Pacific (RIM AR, 2011, p. 13)12. The company’s product portfolio comprises of a wide range of popular Smart phones of the BlackBerry brand like the BlackBerry Curve, Blackberry Bold, Blackberry Pearl, BlackBerry Torch etc. The unique selling feature for BlackBerry’s products is the fact that they provide a high level of security to the process of data communication through their patented and widely acknowledged BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) as well as other high standard networking and communication protocols. In terms of latest developments, it can be highlighted that the company has achieved a significant increase in its customer base worldwide (RIM, 2012)13. Samsung Samsung is one of the reputed global electronics brands which have its headquarters in South Korea. The company has a highly diversified product portfolio which comprises of latest technology electronic devices and gadgets like televisions, refrigerators, washing machine, air conditioners, laptops, mobiles, tablets and smart phones (Samsung.com, 2012)14. Talking specifically about the mobile segment, the company has two separate lines comprising of smart phones and tablets. The company’s most popular brand in the recent times is the Samsung Galaxy which has its extension in both the Smart phones as well as the tablet segment. The smart phones of Samsung mostly run on advanced versions of the Android based operating system like Gingerbread, Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich etc. Highlighting the focus on the mobile wing of the company, it can be said that the company achieved a significant sale of its mobile phones, amounting to around 330 million units in the year 2011 (Samsung Electronics, 2011, p. 9)15. The unique selling feature of the company’s smart phones are the facts comprising of an operating system which has an easy synchronization with other gadgets and technology platforms as well as multiple add-on mobile applications that are easily available in the internet. Issue The main issues of this report are basically two fold in nature. The first issue is to scan and analyze the market of smart phones that is existent in the region of UAE. The second issue that needs to be focused and addressed in this case is the process of understanding the factors of preference that motivates the consumers of the UAE market to choose a particular brand of smart phones over the others. Discussion Talking about the demand and acceptance of the latest technology smart phones amongst the masses located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it can be said that the smart phones comprise of around 43.7% of the total number of mobile handsets that are existent in the country (Arabadvisors.com, 2011)16. Talking in terms of statistics in regards to the demand for technology among the population of UAE, it can be said that around 5,859,118 people access the internet on a regular basis as of the year 2012, thereby attaining around 64% increase on a year on year basis (Internet World Stats, 2012)17. Talking about the demand of smart phones in the UAE market, it can be highlighted that around 13 smart phones are sold on an average on any given day from any mobile shop in the region. Discussing about the nature of the market, it can be said that the market of UAE is a very affluent one due to the availability of advanced telecommunication infrastructures supporting both 3G as well as HSPA networks. This availability of well developed mobile network architecture in the country has led to the process of boosting the Smartphone market in the UAE, with faster penetration rates. In terms of market share and market dominance that are maintained by various globally reputed smart phones manufacturers, it can be said that Research In Motion (RIM’s) BlackBerry dominates the smart phone market with a market capture amounting to around 51% of the total smart phone market. The second most popular smart phone brand in the UAE region is the I-phone belonging to Apple. The I-phone of Apple comprises of around 31 percent of the entire smart phone market. The other smart phone brands like Nokia and Android based Samsung comprise of the remaining smart phone market existent in the UAE region. However, talking about the probable future trends, it can be said that the current smart phone market dominance will be increasingly challenged by the Korea based Samsung Electronics, who is the market leader of the smart phone segment in various markets around the world. Now, converging the discussion towards the high preference of UAE’s customers for the Research In Motion (RIM) developed BlackBerry handsets, it can be said that the smart phones of the BlackBerry brand gets high preference amongst the business class and business minded Arabian masses who focus on the process of having the maximum amount of security when it comes to data based communications and information interchange. As a matter of fact, because of the operating systems’ high security protocols and digital signatures, which has been built in a customized and patented manner and are continuously developed by the in house development team of Research In Motion, the smart phone of the company has high takers in the UAE market. Another key factor that contributes to high acceptance of BlackBerry smut phones in the UAE is because of its BlackBerry Messenger services, which help the customers to get rid of the SMS fees (Zyl, 2011)18. However, another group of customers are getting highly inclined towards BlackBerry smart phones because of the pricing of the product, the design as well as the associated ‘cool’ factor (Sharma, 2012)19. Conclusion On a concluding note, it can be said that the masses of the UAE region prefer the BlackBerry brand of smart phones mostly because of its secured connectivity and data communication services provided by the company. The reason the factor of data security matters so much to the customer of UAE is because most of them are business men and handle their own businesses. As a matter of fact, they want to maintain high levels of confidentiality for various business level communications, deals and agreements they handle by using the Smartphone. Reference IDC.com -1, 2012. Android and iOS Surge to New Smartphone OS Record in Second Quarter, According to IDC. [Online]. Available at: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23638712#.UMMsLuTFWHh [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Slashdot.org, 2012. Android Hits 73% of Global Smartphone Market. [Online]. Available at: http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/11/15/1823201/android-hits-73-of-global-smartphone-market [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Sharma, P., 2012. UAE students prefer BlackBerry, says Axiom. [Online]. Available at: http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/11/15/1823201/android-hits-73-of-global-smartphone-market [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Zyl, G.V., 2011. UAE gets smart when it comes to mobile phones [Online]. Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/business/telecoms/uae-gets-smart-when-it-comes-to-mobile-phones [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Internet World Stats, 2012. Internet Usage in the Middle East. [Online]. Available at: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats5.htm [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Arabadvisors.com, 2011. Smartphones constitute 43.7% of total cellular handsets in the UAE, 54.6% in Saudi and 41.6% in Jordan. [Online] Available at: http://arabadvisors.com/Pressers/presser-191011.htm [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Samsung.com, 2012. About Samsung. [Online] Available at: http://www.samsung.com/in/aboutsamsung/ [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Samsung Electronics, 2011. Annual Report. [Online]. Available at: http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/ir/financialinformation/annualreport/downloads/2011/SECAR2011_Eng_Final.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Nokia.com -a, 2012. Browse Catalog. [Online] Available at: http://www.nokia.com/global/products [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] RIM, 2012. Research In Motion Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2013. Results [Pdf] Available at: http://www.rim.com/investors/documents/pdf/pressrelease/2012/Q2FY13_final_filing.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] RIM, 2011. Annual Report. [Pdf] Available at: http://www.rim.com/investors/documents/pdf/annual/2011rim_ar.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Nokia.com - b, 2011. Nokia in 2011. [Pdf] Available at: http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/1161018/data/2/-/Request-Nokia-in-2011-pdf.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] IDC.com -2, 2012. Worldwide Mobile Phone Growth Expected to Drop to 1.4% in 2012 Despite Continued Growth Of Smartphones, According to IDC. [Online] Available at: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23818212#.UMMzreTFWHh [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Marketsandmarkets.com, 2010. Mobile Phone & Smartphone Market Global Forecast (2010-2015). [Online] Available at: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smartphone-market-219.html [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Apple Press Info, 2012. Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results. [Online] Available at: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/10/25Apple-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-Results.html [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Apple.com, 2012. Apple Inc. [Pdf] Available at: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/2206606042x0x610219/112dd7d2-e33a-44ad-b4ea-8870c5dd9281/AAPL_10K_FY12_10.31.12.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec 2012] Price, M, 2012. How the iPhone 5 Has Affected the Smartphone Market. [Online] Available at: http://mashable.com/2012/09/23/iphone-infographic/ [Accessed 12 Dec 2012] Mazin, 2012. Smartphone Market 2012-2013. [Online] Available at: http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/smartphone-market-2012-2013-infographic/ [Accessed 12 Dec 2012] Thompson, S., 2012. Infographic: Samsung leads the smartphone market [Online] Available at: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/smartphones/infographic-samsung-leads-the-smartphone-market/5463 [Accessed 12 Dec 2012] Read More