HTC became a top-ten player in the global handset market in 2Q10, as consumers snapped up its Android-based smartphones.
The Taiwanese vendor was ranked in eighth place at end-June, after a 140% rise in sales year-on-year gave it a 1.8% share of the global market during the quarter, according to research firm Gartner.
HTC’s position was boosted by its strong portfolio of Android smartphones and an aggressive brand building campaign, Gartner said.
The vendor also cashed in on growing sales of smartphones globally during 2Q, with the devices accounting for 19% of the 325.6 million handsets shipped during the period – more than double the share they held in 2Q09.
While overall device sales were up 13.8% year-on-year, ASPs fell during 2Q10 due to currency fluctuations and price cuts by vendors focused on boosting their market share.
Nokia remained top of the list during the period, although its market share of 34.2% was down slightly on the 36.8% share it held in 2Q09.
Samsung maintained second place with a 20.1% share of the market in 2Q10, followed by LG (9%), and RIM and Sony Ericsson (3.4% each).
Tablet sales did little to hinder the progress of smartphones during the quarter, analyst Carolina Milanesi noted.
“We believe that most tablet users still feel the need for a truly pocketable, yet highly capable, device for those situations when it's inconvenient to carry a device with a larger form factor,” she said.