Samsung overtook Apple to claim top spot for mobile phones in New Zealand in Q3 2011, as Apple's iPhone shipments slowed in preparation for its iPhone 4S launch, IDC says. Samsung claimed 28.5% of the smartphone market, with Huawei taking second with 20%. Apple dropped from its previous number one position to third with nearly 13%. "While Apple's iPhone shipments slowed down in preparation for its new iPhone 4S launch in New Zealand, Samsung lead the smartphone market for the first time with some of its flagship models such as Galaxy SII and Galaxy 5 performing very well,” IDC ANZ market analyst Yee-Kuan Lau says. IDC says the smartphone market held 43% of the total Q3 New Zealand mobile phone market. New Zealand feature phone and smartphone shipments grew 55% quarter on quarter – Australia's mobile phone market, in comparison, dipped 17% across both smartphone and feature phone categories. Samsung also claimed top spot across the Tasman, where Android took 49% market share, followed by Apple iOS with 36%. "There is a gradual shift in demand by cost-conscious consumers to low-cost Android smartphones from feature phones across ANZ, as more low cost smartphones are becoming available in the market,” Ms Lau says.  Android was expected to widen the gap in New Zealand by the end of 2011. Close to 9.5 million smartphones were expected to be shipped to ANZ channels by the end of the year. Lacklustre printer market The New Zealand printer market declined in Q3, down 14% on the previous quarter, though an increase in laser shipments bolstered figures somewhat. IDC Asia Pacific (ANZ) market analyst Cheryl Looi says total New Zealand unit shipments for inkjets were down 22% quarter on quarter, but a 7% increase in laser shipments bolstered the overall figures. The decline was also seen in Australia, and ANZ posted a decline in unit shipments of 7% year on year and 20% sequentially during Q3. The inkjet market slumped 12%, to 389,000 units shipped, with laser up 4%, to 200,000 units, across ANZ. "Aggressive promotional efforts by Fuji Xerox Printers mainly contributed to this growth, which falsely depicts healthy demand from end-users,” IDC says. Regionally, ink and toner supplies were also up, growing 5% sequentially and 3% year on year. The research company says weak business and consumer sentiment resulting from the global economic outlook and European sovereign debt issues, combined with the introduction of the carbon tax in Australia, made for a ‘difficult economic environment'. "Although print vendors continued the usual price discounting to encourage sell-through during the quarter, this was not enough to fuel growth in end-user demand in the print market,” IDC says. "Cautiousness prevailed and therefore spending was very conservative.” Looi says Q3 was ‘all about supply-side push and who will win the aggressive pricing battle'. "This is particularly evident in Fuji Xerox Printers, go-to-market strategy, which was focused on differentiating themselves with steeper-than-usual price discounts.” Looi says the strategy resulted in Brother and Samsung losing sales to FXP in entry-level laser printer range, particularly in Australia. LED lead monitor market The LED backlight market share recorded ‘massive' growth in Q3 2011 and for the first time is now making up more than half of the overall PC monitor market in New Zealand, at 63%. The LED success comes in a quarter which saw a double digit sequential drop for the overall PC monitor market, which was down 22% according to IDC which says there were 578,000 unit shipments. IDC associate market analyst, Ivy Teoh, says the continuous price competition and tightening of profit margins are pushing vendors to refocus from market share to profitability. "This shift of focus is clearly noticeable as vendors have been moving away from shipping 18.5”W monitors which have had at least a 50% drop compared to the same period last year.” Dell lead PC monitor shipments in ANZ for Q3, taking 26% market share, with Acer second on 17%, and Samsung third on 13%. LG and HP rounded out the top five with 10% and 9%, respectively.