It's Official: Apple Is Destroying Nokia

Updated

The numbers are in, and they're either awesome or ugly. Your perspective depends on which stocks you own. If you've invested in either Nokia (NYS: NOK) or Research In Motion (NAS: RIMM) , you have my sympathies. If you've invested in Apple (NAS: AAPL) , Google (NAS: GOOG) , Samsung, or HTC, congratulations. You're looking particularly handsome today.

For the first time since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Apple leads IDC's quarterly smartphone market-share tracker.

Vendor

Q2 2011 Shipments

Q2 2011 Market Share

Q2 2010 Shipments

Q2 2010 Market Share

Change*

Apple

20.3 mil.

19.1%

8.4 mil.

13.0%

141.7%

Samsung

17.3 mil.

16.2%

3.6 mil.

5.6%

380.6%

Nokia

16.7 mil.

15.7%

24.0 mil.

37.3%

(30.4%)

Research In Motion

12.4 mil.

11.6%

11.2 mil.

17.4%

10.7%

HTC

11.7 mil.

11.0%

4.4 mil.

6.8%

165.9%

Others

28.1 mil.

26.4%

12.8 mil.

19.9%

119.5%

Total

106.5 mil.

100.0%

64.4%

100.0%

65.4%

Source: IDC.
*Year over year, in shipments.

Looks like this headline was more prescient than I ever could have imagined. (Or intended, frankly.) Apple is one of only three vendors to outgrow the overall market, with the other two -- Samsung and HTC -- being Android licensees.

Of the others, I suspect this hurts Nokia most. The one-time Finnish phenom has yielded more than 20 percentage points of smartphone market share over the past year, lending context to last month's awful earnings report. The data also makes CEO Stephen Elop look smart in partnering with his old employer, Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) , to bring Windows to Nokia handsets -- although, to be fair, some of Nokia's drop is due to the uncertainty of selling Symbian models when the company is looking to abandon the platform.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorTim Beyersis a member of theMotley Fool Rule Breakersstock-picking team. He owned shares of Apple and Google at the time of publication. Check out Tim'sportfolio holdingsandFoolish writings, or connect with him onGoogle+or Twitter, where he goes by@milehighfool. You can also get his insightsdelivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Research In Motion.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Apple, Microsoft, and Google, creating a bull call spread position in Apple, and creating a covered collar position in Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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