Smartphone shipments hit a record 700 million units in 2012 according to analyst firm Strategy Analytics but growth in shipments fell compared to 2011.

Total shipments in 2012 were 43 percent up on the 490.5 million shipped in 2011 but growth was below the 64 percent increase seen a year earlier.

SA smartphone numbers

Strategy Analytics senior analyst Neil Shah attributed the slowing growth to maturing penetration of smartphones in developed markets such as Western Europe and North America.

Fourth-quarter shipments were up, with 217 million shipped in the final quarter of 2012 compared to 157 million in the same period in 2011 — a 38 percent increase.

Samsung was the leading smartphone vendor in 2012 with a record 213 million shipments, securing a 30 percent global market share. The South Korean company increased its lead over Apple and Nokia with a record amount of smartphones shipped by any company, beating Nokia’s total of 100.1 million in 2010.

“Despite tough competition in stores and courtrooms, Samsung continued to deliver numerous hit models, from the high-end Galaxy Note 2 phablet to the mass-market Galaxy Y,” said Strategy Analytics’ executive director Neil Mawston.

Apple increased shipments by 46 percent to record 135.8 million units, gaining the same 19 percent marketshare as 2011. The company’s strength in developed markets was offset by a limited presence in high-growth emerging markets such as Africa, according to Strategy Analytics.

Nokia retained its third place with 35 million units shipped but its smartphone market share fell to just 5 percent from 16 percent in 2011.

“Nokia’s Windows Phone portfolio has improved significantly in recent months, with new models like the Lumia 920, but we believe the vendor still lacks a true hero model in its range that can be considered an Apple iPhone or Samsung S3 killer,” said Strategy Analytics analyst Linda Sui.

Overall mobile phone shipments grew just 2 percent in 2012 to hit 1.6 billion units (an all-time high).

Shah said “ongoing macroeconomic challenges in mature markets like North America and Western Europe, tighter operator upgrade policies, and shifting consumer tastes” contributed to the modest growth.

Samsung was again the overall mobile phone market leader with 396.5 million units and a 25 percent market share in 2012.

However, Nokia’s total shipments fell 20 percent to 335.6 million units from 417.1 million units in 2011 as tough competition from Samsung in developing markets and increased pressure from other vendors in developed regions took their toll.

However, Nokia’s dual-SIM feature phones, Asha touch-screen phones and Lumia handsets performed well, Strategy Analytics noted.