Worldwide mobile phone sales reached 251 million units in the third quarter
of 2006, a 21.5 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to
Gartner.
New research from the analyst firm said that third-quarter mobile sales in
Asia/Pacific, especially India and China, rose dramatically and drove overall
growth upwards. Asia/Pacific was the fastest growing region this quarter.
"Although sales of replacement handsets during the third quarter in the more
mature markets were not as buoyant as we have been accustomed to, they were
offset by continuing momentum in sales to first-time buyers in emerging markets,
" said Carolina Milanesi, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at
Gartner.
"We have also started to see increasing sales of replacement models in some
emerging markets, which helped push total sales in the third quarter."
Gartner believes that, in a market where players compete on price, technology
and strategic partnerships, life is getting much tougher for the smaller
vendors.
"Nokia,
Motorola
and
Samsung
accounted for 68 per cent of worldwide mobile sales in the third quarter of
2006," said Milanesi.
Nokia retained its worldwide number one position with 35.1 per cent market
share, gaining 2.6 points compared to the same period last year.
The Scandinavian giant increased its market share in all regions except North
America, and regained the top spot in Latin America after losing it to Motorola
a year ago.
While Motorola increased its worldwide market share in the third quarter of
2006, the company experienced "challenges" in some regions, Gartner noted.
The company lost the number one spot in Latin American to Nokia and its
number two position in western Europe and EMEA to Samsung. "Christmas might not
be so jolly for Motorola in some markets," said Milanesi.
After a "shaky first half of the year" Samsung recorded a healthy third
quarter with sales accounting for more than 30 million units.
Milanesi noted that
Sony
Ericsson had an "exceptional quarter" selling 19.4 million units.
"Sony Ericsson's success was a result of building a wider portfolio of
successful products rather than counting on a single product. It also focused on
better planning to avoid the supply problems that have limited its potential in
the past," she said.
As a result of the strong quarter, Gartner raised its mobile phone sales
forecast to 986 million units in 2006, with 281 million units in the fourth
quarter of 2006.
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