VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam consumed 28.7 million cellphones last year, a year-on-year increase of 13%, according to a quarterly survey on Asian-Pacific cellphone markets released by the market research firm IDC.

A promotion girl shows a Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone at a function in HCMC. According to IDC, Samsung still takes the lead in Vietnam’s cellphone market last year

According to IDC, smartphones recorded the highest growth rate of 57% with 11.6 million units sold in 2014. Total smartphone sales accounted for 41% of the domestic cellphone market last year and are expected to surpass the number of feature phones on the market this year.

Vo Le Tam Thanh, market analyst at IDC Vietnam, said the pickup in smartphone sales nationwide last year resulted from the fast decline in prices in this segment.

“Cheap smartphones are the major driver for fast growth. At present, 60% of smartphones distributed in Vietnam cost less than US$150 a unit,” he said.

IDC said Samsung still took the lead in the local cellphone market although its market share plunged from 54% in 2012 to 26% last year. Meanwhile, Microsoft Mobile’s market share rose strongly, from 16% in 2013 to 24% last year.

Daniel Pang, research director in charge of ASEAN region at IDC Asia & Pacific, said Microsoft Mobile mostly focuses on the common segment while Apple and Samsung are still dominating the luxury segment.

The IDC survey also found a significant increase in sales of smartphones having screen sizes of 5-5.5 inches in the final quarter of last year.

IDC said the number of phablet, a mobile device designed to combine or straddle smartphone and tablet, in Vietnam is smaller than other markets, but interest in it is on the rise thanks to falling prices and the rising demand for using bigger phones for Internet use and gaming among Vietnamese users.    

SGT