Analyst says iPhone kept smartphone growth alive

The iPhone kept smartphone growth alive during the last quarter, according to one analyst.

(Credit: CNET)

One analyst thinks that if it wasn't for the iPhone, smartphone growth would have slowed to a crawl last quarter.

Charlie Wolf of Needham & Company released some data Tuesday, as captured by MacNN, and said he believes that Apple's iPhone accounted for virtually all the sequential growth in the market during the third quarter, which totaled 28.6 percent. That's when Apple launched the iPhone 3G and sold 6.9 million units, putting it in second place among all smartphone vendors with 16.6 percent of the market.

At first glance it seems a bit of a stretch to give Apple sole credit for keeping smartphone growth alive during the period. But market leader Nokia posted a lackluster quarter, and the smartphone market has been growing at a much faster clip than that for some time now. Wolf thinks that had the iPhone 3G not been such a hit, smartphone growth would have slowed to a trickle.

That might not bode well for the current quarter, as Wolf notes that as many as 2 million iPhones sold during the third quarter might have been designated for the channel, and not actually sold to real people until the fourth quarter. That could mean smartphone growth is going to flatline this holiday season or even fall as Apple's carrier partners work through channel inventory and the economy dampens demand. But Wolf thinks Apple and RIM are in decent shape because consumers--especially in the U.S.--are showing a preference for integrated hardware/software phones like the iPhone and BlackBerry.

[Mark_Anderson]

Err... since Nokia only released the N96 towards the end of last quarter (and fluffed the launch since everyone waited for the N85 instead) it's not really that surprising they didn't increase growth.

Analysts. You have to love them.

[Proposalware]

Hey, the iPhone has great appeal to our customers and we do thank the iPhone for all the hype of "does it compete with the iPhone". All in all though...the enhanced data (basically internet) technology that the carriers offer plays a big part. Dual screen has been mentioned in the past, but I have not seen it hit main street yet. It is kind of like having two flat screens in your living room...would it be useful...YES! Is it likely? That is for consumers to decide...Enjoy the mobile revolution!

[NewsReader_]

This makes some sense. I serioulsy doubt that the growth would have been as much without the iPhone. I do not agree that it would have slowed however. RIM, Windows Mobile, and Symbian were not exactly struggling before the iPhone came along.

The basic question to ask is: "How many iPhone owners would have purchased another smartphone if there was no iPhone?"

I think the answer is: enough to show significant growth when combined with the people that actually did buy another smartphone.

This report is a bit imflamatory.

[Mr. Dee]

What next, Apple saved the US from depression? We need to stop inflating this Company's persona.

[MrKleinpaste]

Considering their stock showed better growth over the last five years than the dow and the S&P 500 combined I'd say they have a bit of a right to feel "inflated".

[Perry_Clease]

"What next, Apple saved the US from depression?"

And if it does?

[oharag1111]

I just bought an iPhone this quarter. A friend of mine did as well. My company just bought two - one for the CEO and another for the Controller (we are a small company without restrictive IT rules). The controller decided on iPhones after trying out the new Blackberry Touch (whatever it's called).

I also just got off the phone with another friend. He bought an Ipod Touch for his wife. LOVES IT. And now he wants an iPhone.

Just my little world.

[MrKleinpaste]

Going like gangbusters where I work too.