Apple

Apple: the iconic iPhone is losing some of its lustre among Asia's well-heeled consumers in Singapore and Hong Kong, a victim of changing mobile habits and its own runaway success. Driven by a combination of iPhone fatigue, a desire to be different and a plethora of competing devices, users are turning to other brands, notably those from Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), eating into Apple's market share. In Singapore, Apple's products were so dominant in 2010 that more devices here ran its iOS operating system per capita than anywhere else in the world. But StatCounter ((http://gs.statcounter.com/)), which measures traffic collected across a network of 3m websites, calculates that Apple's share of mobile devices in Singapore – iPad and iPhone - declined sharply last year. From a peak of 72% in Jan ‘12, its share fell to 50% this month, while Android devices now account for 43% of the market, up from 20% in the same month last year. In Hong Kong, devices running Apple's iOS now account for about 30% of the total, down from about 45% a year ago. Android accounts for nearly two-thirds. Where Hong Kong and Singapore lead, other key markets across fast-growing Asia usually follow. Industry players say, Apple is still viewed as a prestigious brand, but there are just so many other cool smartphones out there now that the competition is just much stiffer. SGX listed companies which have exposure to Apple include Hi-P (makes handset components for Apple), Epicenter (runs the eponymous stores that carry Apple pdts and related accessories) and ECS (IT pdts distributor).