Huawei now world's 3rd-largest smartphone vendor

A model shows Huawei Ascend P6 smartphone during its unveiling ceremony in Vienna, Aug 13, 2013. International telecommunications giant Huawei unveiled its latest flagship device Ascend P6 in Austria on Aug 13 2013, marketing it as the thinnest smartphone in the world.[Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd emerged as the world's third-largest smartphone vendor in the third quarter of this year, thanks to its popular P6 and G610 models, according to Boston-based research firm Strategy Analytics.

Analysts at Strategy Analytics called Huawei "a star performer" in the smartphone market in the quarter, with the Chinese company's global shipments growing 67 percent year-on-year from 7.6 million in the third quarter of 2012.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc continued to lead the field by large margins. There was intense competition for third place among various smartphone vendors. Huawei overtook LG since the Q2 report, claiming third place with 5.1 percent of sales in the latest third quarter.

Analysts attributed the rise to strong sales of its higher-end Ascend P6 and the mainstream G610, particularly in China, Huawei's home market.

While Huawei remains in a solid position in China, its position is weaker in other major markets, such as the United States and Europe. "Huawei will need to expand aggressively in the American and European markets if it wants to seriously challenge the big two of Samsung and Apple next year," Strategy Analytics concluded.

For the whole mobile phone market, Huawei also made strides during the period. The Shenzhen-based company shipped 14.6 million mobile phones worldwide for 3 percent market share to become the world's fifth largest vendor in the third quarter of 2013.

Global mobile phone shipments grew 7 percent annually to reach 418 million units in the third quarter of 2013. Smartphones accounted for 60 percent of total shipments, while feature phones made up the remainder.

Samsung captured a record 29 percent share of all mobile phone volumes worldwide. "Samsung shipped more mobile phones than Nokia, Apple and LG combined. Solid demand for the new Note 3 phablet and for mass-market devices like the Galaxy Y helped to lift Samsung's volumes," said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics.

Huawei unveil Ascend P6 smartphone in Vienna