According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, worldwide mobile phone shipments totaled 188.7 million units in the second quarter, increasing 7.3% sequentially and 16.3% from the same quarter one year ago. The report concludes that impressive shipments of entry-level mobile phones to both developing and mature markets energized this market.
Ramon Llamas, research analyst for IDC's Mobility Group, says "Despite all the interest and excitement over cutting edge devices, there continues to be a demand for simple voice-only phones that appeal to broad customer segments, even in mature markets like North America."
According to Aloysius Choong, research analyst for IDC Asia/Pacific, "Much has been made about the enormous potential of developing markets, but heavily-populated cities in these countries have already been largely tapped despite the relatively low penetration rates overall. Affordable handsets thus help sustain subscriber growth by reaching into the less-populated cities and rural regions."
Similarly, says the report, regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa have benefited from vendors' increased production of entry-level phones.
Among the leading vendors:
Worldwide Mobile Phone Shipments and Market Share, 2Q 2005 | |||
Rank | Vendor | 2Q 2005 Shipments | 2Q Market Share |
1 | Nokia | 60,800,000 | 32.2% |
2 | Motorola | 33,900,000 | 18.0% |
3 | Samsung | 24,400,000 | 12.9% |
4 | LG Electronics | 12,100,000 | 6.4% |
5 | Sony Ericsson | 11,800,000 | 6.3% |
| Others | 45,700,000 | 24.2% |
| Total | 188,700,000 | 100.0% |
Source: IDC, July 27, 2005 |
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