• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, August 11, 2005

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:

• Nokia early in the (2^nd) quarter Nokia launched its eye-catching multimedia N-Series phones along with 14 other models, all targeting different consumer tastes and usage models.
• Motorola began shipping 15 new devices, several of which were slight variations on its tremendously popular RAZR platform.
• Samsung management believes that shipment and profit growth will come in the second half of 2005 on the strength of its premium devices.
• LG Electronics showed interest in offering a converged mobile device offering, but stopped short of saying when shipments would begin.
• Sony Ericsson expanded its portfolio with more high-end devices, including its Sony-branded Walkman phone.

Go here for more information about the report.