MobileMonday Global

^{Worldwide mobile phone market grows 23 percent} Nokia takes market from Motorola and Samsung

Nokia showed renewed strength as the worldwide mobile phone market posted a second consecutive quarter of sequential growth in the third quarter of 2004. According to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone QView, worldwide mobile phone shipments rose 23 percent year over year and increased sequentially 7 percent in 3Q04 to 164.1 million units.

Nokia’s reinforced its portfolio with a number of new mid-range and high-end handsets, including fashion, camera, and enterprise-focused mobile phones and converged mobile devices set the company firmly at the top of the market.

Conversely, the next four spots are more in flux than ever. Only 0.4 percent separates number 2 Motorola and number 3 Samsung, while the same amount separates number 4 Siemens and number 5 LG Electronics. Even LG Electronics’ position is not completely safe, with Sony Ericsson less than 1 percent behind.

"During the third quarter of 2004, the mobile phone market continued to grow thanks to strong replacement trends in established markets and increased shipments into regions with low mobile penetration rates. Key to this growth has been the continued effort by mobile phone vendors to engage in a constant cycle of innovation, improvement, and renewal throughout their product portfolios," said David Linsalata, analyst in IDC's Mobile Devices program.

"With many of the top market spots in close contention and the holiday season looming, those vendors who put forth well-positioned and comprehensive portfolios of entry, mid-, and high-end devices and can execute in meeting demand will be most rewarded by consumers with potential market share increases."

Source: IDC (preliminary)