Samsung hogs gold, silver and bronze as Galaxy range continues to win over mobile fans
Affordable Nokia flexes its muscles amongst the big-hitters with four handsets in top ten
Apple iPhone 5 in seventh position, with the older 4S clinging on in tenth place
UK gadget fans do January detox – following festive excess, just three mobiles in top ten cost more than £20 per month.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is still the UK’s number one mobile phone, having spent a staggering nine months at the top of the chart since its launch. That’s according to the Uswitch.com Mobile Tracker, based on live searches, pre-orders and pay monthly sales.
And it’s not just the flagship S3 that’s a firm fixture in the mobile chart. The Android-powered Galaxy Ace and Galaxy S2 are favourites too, regularly tussling it out for second and third positions. This month it’s the Ace that has the edge, with mobile fans clearly hooked by affordable deals from £10.50 per month. By comparison the Galaxy S2, with its contactless payment technology, is available from £15.50 per month – over £10 cheaper than the S3.
Also enjoying a successful start to 2013 is stalwart mobile maker Nokia. Its 100, C2-01 and Lumia 610 and 800 models all feature in the top ten with cheap deals from £10.50. But, value for money aside, the features of smart handsets like the Lumia 800 do not disappoint. In fact, boasting Nokia Drive satellite navigation, Xbox Live gaming services and mobile Microsoft Office packages, Nokia’s first-ever Windows smartphone is a brilliant marriage of form and function, which has enabled the manufacturer to target the mid-range market in the wake of flagship Windows Phone 8 arrivals.
Not present in the list this month is HTC, a former firm fixture in the Uswitch top ten with its Wildfire S and One X. Instead we see the LG Nexus 4 enjoying time in the chart, thanks to its impressive Google Now and Search technology allowing for voice command searches and personalised updates. Having sold out on SIM-free since its launch in November 2012, this fellow South Korean manufacturer’s Google collaboration sees them stealthily emerging from Samsung’s shadow.
Number one handset – the Samsung Galaxy S3 remains the UK’s number one handset after nine consecutive months at the top of the chart.
New entries – classic feature phone, the Nokia C2-01, is a new entry for 2013, joining the mobile top ten in fifth position.
Biggest losers – the Nokia Lumia 800 and LG Nexus 4 have both slipped down the charts by two positions, but the January loser is Apple, with the 4S falling from fifth to tenth place.
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1
| Samsung Galaxy S3 16GB Blue | Android | No change | |
2
| Samsung Galaxy Ace | Android | Up one | |
3
| Samsung Galaxy S2 | Android | Down one | |
4
| Nokia 100 | Nokia Symbian | Up eight | |
5
| Nokia C2-01 | Nokia Symbian | New entry | |
6
| LG Nexus 4 | Android | Down two | |
7
| Apple iPhone 5 16GB Black | iOS | Down one | |
8
| Nokia Lumia 800 | Windows Phone 7 | Down one | |
9
| Nokia Lumia 610 Black | Windows Phone 7 | Up four | |
10
| Apple iPhone 4S 16GB Black | iOS | Down five |
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, says: “After December’s mobile top ten, which read like a smartphone Santa wish-list, it’s been all-change in January.
“The UK’s loyalty to brand Samsung is unwavering, but beyond that we’ve seen customers shaking-up the rankings, leaving Apple’s 4S for dust in favour of offerings from Lexus and Nokia.
“And just as we’ve been reading about detoxes and ‘dryathlons’, the mobile market is no stranger to a bit of January belt-tightening, with tech fans looking for sensible deals following a seasonal gadget binge.
“Nevertheless it will be interesting to see if consumers stick with these sub-£10 deals in the face of exciting new phones coming onto the market.
“A swathe of bargain smartphones like the C2-01 have leapt back into the chart as a residual effect of gifting and January sales, whilst canny consumers also wait to see high-end devices around the corner.
“With the launch of a revamped BlackBerry in the full-touch flagship Z10 and Nokia’s Lumia 620 looking to disrupt the affordable end of the spectrum, expect some significant movement in the coming weeks – not to mention major smartphone announcements amidst February’s Mobile World Congress.”
Katherine Moss
Phone: 020 3021 5893
Email: katherine.moss@uswitch.com
Twitter: @uswitchPR
The Uswitch.com Mobile Tracker data is derived from Omio's (www.omio.com) network of comparison sites, which includes Uswitch.com and a number of leading consumer technology websites which total in excess of 10 million monthly page views. The data is a result of an aggregation of all of the clicks and all of the sales from these partner sites.
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