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TRA report reveals UAE market share of mobile phones [Seven Days (United Arab Emirates)]
[March 09, 2014]

TRA report reveals UAE market share of mobile phones [Seven Days (United Arab Emirates)]


(Seven Days (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) More than half the phones used in the UAE during the last quarter of 2013 were smartphones, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has revealed.

According to a TRA 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 five per cent in the fourth quarter alone.



The report also found that Facebook was the most popular social media channel and iTunes was the most visited app.

In terms of smartphone models, the iPhone 5 was the most commonly used smartphone in the UAE comprising three 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 (1.5 per cent); iPhone 4S (1.2 per 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 pr cent), HTC (0.7 per cent), Huawei (0.5 per cent) and Sony (0.3 per 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 (2.9 per cent), Nokia X1 (2.8 per cent), Samsung SIII (2.6 per cent), 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), Nokia E63 (1.4 per cent), iPhone 5S (1.2 per cent) and Samsung S4 (0.9 per cent).

During the period, 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 six per 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. 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.

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." (c) 2014 Al Sidra Media LLC Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company

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