Earlier this week, we noted that Apple's share of mobile phone industry profits had risen to 39%, topping that of the top three handset manufacturers (Nokia, Samsung, and LG) combined. Asymco expands on that topic of discussion to offer an interesting graphical look at how Apple's share of profits has grown over time, primarily at the expense of the previously-dominant Nokia.
Note that profit share has mostly shifted from Nokia to Apple, though Sony Ericsson and LG were also casualties and Motorola has not had anything to lose.
The report asks whether the Android platform will be able to shift the profit distribution over time, seeing as how Apple, Research in Motion, and Nokia make up the lion's share of profits and are unlikely to adopt Android in the future.
The graph demonstrates that Motorola and Sony Ericsson have both managed to return to profitability as they step into the Android platform but the report notes that they also face the challenge of smaller local brands such as China's ZTE and other emerging markets as likely competitors for profit share as they all push forward on Android while the primary profit makers continue to differentiate themselves with their unique platforms.
