Gartner: Mobile phone sales rose by 21.6 percent in Q2

29.08.2005
Von Computing SA

Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 190.5 million units in the second quarter of 2005, a 21.6 percent growth from the same period last year, according to Gartner.

In the second quarter of 2005, the mobile phone market experienced the second strongest quarter on record (in the fourth quarter of 2004 worldwide sales surpassed 195.3 million units).

"All the regions recorded growth this quarter, apart from Japan, which saw a small decline in demand compared to the second quarter in 2004," says Carolina Milanesi, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner, based in Egham, U.K.

"The sales in the mature markets of Western Europe and North America were driven primarily by sales of phones as replacements for older models and, to a lesser extent, by first-time buyers. In the emerging markets growth was boosted by an uptake in new connections, as consumers took advantage of falling average selling prices of mobile phones."

Nokia and Motorola have strengthened their position in the marketplace, as the two companies accounted for 49.8 percent of worldwide mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2005. Nokia"s market share grew by 2.3 percentage points to reach 31.9 percent.

"Nokia regained its top position in Latin America, and stepped up to the third position in North America, benefiting from the successful launch of its Virgin Mobile which helped its lagging code division multiple access (CDMA) sales," says Hugues de la Vergne, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner, based in Dallas.

Motorola was the second best-selling vendor in Western Europe, a significant improvement compared to the same time last year, when Motorola finished as the Number 5 vendor in the market.

In North America, Motorola was the market leader with its share reaching 33.5 percent, while it was the number two vendor in Latin America, with 31.9 percent of sales in the region.