Apple is Favorite Brand on Emerging Markets

A new survey revealed that Apple Inc. is now the favorite brand in emerging markets. However, it is still far from beating sales of Samsung.

According to reports from Upstream, a marketing firm, and consultancy firm Ovum; their survey revealed that though Apple iDevices are expensive, many individuals in the emerging market desire to have it.

In the study, about 4,504 consumers in five emerging countries, including China, Vietnam, India, Brazil, and Nigeria. The respondents were asked to pick their choice of device regardless of the price.

After that, they compared the results with last year's survey and found that Samsung's rate decreased from 32 percent to 29 percent. Apple, on the other hand, increased from 21 percent to 32 percent. Nokia remained on the third place, but its rate decreased from somewhere above 20 percent to just more than 10 percent. The struggling BlackBerry, which was on the fifth place last year, showed progressed as it is now taken the fourth place from HTC. HTC, showed a regress, as implied by the decrease of its percentage -- it now sits on the fifth place.

The low-cost iPhone 5C, which was primarily marketed to price-conscious consumers, allegedly help the Cupertino, Calif.-based company boost its brand. Without it, Apple will have trouble getting even at par with Samsung in sales, said IHS analyst Francis Sideco to Bloomberg.

Though individuals from the middle class in emerging countries might switch to iPhones once they can already afford it, it will take time. Several countries do not offer discounted prices for iPhones even along with carrier contacts. At $549, the "cheaper' iPhone 5C is still expensive for most in the emerging markets. Apple must learn how to play like Samsung.

Samsung remains the world's largest maker of smartphones because they offer them at affordable prices.

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