(MENAFN-Khaleej Times) iPhone 5 continues to be the most commonly used Smartphone followed by Galaxy SIII with both Samsung and Apple recording an increase in their market shares
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has revealed the fourth quarter report on the nation’s most popular mobile phone handsets, social networking platforms and applications websites. Investigating the current state of the market, the report reveals the market share of mobile phones in the UAE by manufacturer and model.
According to the report, during the period between October 1 2013 and December 31 2013, 51 per cent of handsets registered on the UAE’s networks were smartphones, a figure that increased by 10 per cent during 2013 and 5 per cent in the fourth quarter alone. In terms of smartphone models, the iPhone 5 was the most commonly used smartphone in the UAE comprising 3 per cent of the total handsets registered on UAE networks. The report illustrates that the Samsung SIII was the second most popular smartphone with 2.6 per cent of the market share, followed by iPhone 4S (2.3 per cent), iPhone 4 (1.8 per cent), both BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Galaxy S Duos at (1.7 per cent); Samsung S4 LTE (1.5per cent); iPhone 4S (1.2per cent) and Samsung S4 (0.9 per cent).
The report indicates that 51.5 per cent of all handsets registered on UAE networks were manufactured by Nokia, a figure that has been declining over time. This was followed by Samsung (17.9 per cent), BlackBerry (9.0 per cent), Apple (8.4 per cent), LG (0.9 per cent), HTC (0.7 per cent), Huawei (0.5 per cent) and Sony (0.3per cent), and HTC (0.6per cent). Unlike Nokia and Blackberry, Samsung and Apple recorded increases in their market shares in Q4.
In terms of specific handset models, the Nokia 101/1010 (3.9 per cent) continues to be the most popular mobile handset in UAE in Q4. In Q4, the Nokia 1280/1282 (3.6 per cent) was the second most popular handset followed by the iPhone 5 (3.0 per cent), Nokia E5 (2.9per cent), Nokia X1 (2.8 per cent), Samsung SIII (2.6 per cent), iPhone 4S (2.3 per cent), iPhone 4 (1.8per cent), both BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Galaxy S Duos at (1.7per cent), Nokia E63 (1.4 per cent), iPhone 5S (1.2 per cent) and Samsung S4 (0.9 per cent).
During the period from October 1 2013 to December 31 2013, users of smartphones and fixed Internet services in the UAE visited various applications websites a total of 2.3 billion times. Apple iTunes was by far the most commonly visited applications website at 84 per cent, followed by Samsung Apps at 6per cent, Blackberry App World and Nokia OVI.
In terms of social media, UAE smartphone and fixed Internet users made a total of 11.5 billion visits to social networking websites during the period from October 1 2013 to December 31 2013. Visits to Facebook accounted for 84 per cent of total visits to social networking sites, followed by Twitter with 13 per cent of visits, then LinkedIn, Maktoob and MySpace.
Commenting on the review, Majed Almesmar, TRA Deputy Director General for Telecommunications Sector said: “The report provides an interesting snapshot of the UAE’s mobile handset market which has very distinct characteristics in terms of consumer adoption. It also reflects a dynamic ecosystem in which both feature phones and smartphones are emerging as the future growth engines of the telecommunications industry.”
“The findings derived from the TRA’s latest piece of research reinforce the vibrancy of the UAE’s mobile sector. The TRA is committed to producing research that accurately depicts the current state of the market which in turn, enables the UAE to track its progress and remain ahead of the global mobile industry curve.” he added.
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