Cell Phone Sales 2006

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Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 224 million units in the first quarter of 2006, a 23.8 percent increase from the same period last year.
 
The top two vendors, Nokia and Motorola, accounted for 54.3 percent of worldwide mobile phone sales in the first quarter of 2006 (see Table 1). Nokia was the favored brand in Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa combined and Asia whilst second preferred brand in the Americas. Wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) sales played an important role in overall Nokia sales in the first quarter, which favorably impacted Nokia's average selling price for the quarter.

Motorola achieved a market share of 20.3 percent, its highest worldwide market share. As other vendors embrace thinner phones, Motorola needs to continue to be a leader in new designs and focus on timely market launches to maintain its growth.

Samsung recorded a year on year drop in market share of -1.0 percentage point. Across the regions, Samsung only grew its share in Western Europe and Latin America falling further behind Motorola at a worldwide level.

Table 1. Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sales to End-Users in 1Q06 (Thousands of Units)

Company	1Q06 Sales	1Q06 Market Share (%)	1Q05 Sales	1Q05 Market Share (%)
Nokia	76,088.4	34.0	54,960.1	30.4
Motorola	45,518.6	20.3	30,143.3	16.7
Samsung	28,080.5	12.5	24,479.8	13.5
LG	14,508.5	6.5	11,464.2	6.3
Sony Ericsson	13,599.6	6.1	9,905.8	5.5
BenQMobile	7,867.6	3.5	10,209.5	5.7
Others	38,378.2	17.1	39,829.5	21.9
TOTAL	224,041.4	100.0	180,992.2	100.0

Note: This table includes integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) terminals. It excludes shipments from original design manufacturers to original equipment manufacturer.
* 2004 BenQ Mobile volume refer to Siemens and BenQ sales combined.

Regional Analysis

In Western Europe, sales in the first quarter of 2006 reached 41.1 million units, a 12 percent increase from the same period in 2005.

In Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales of mobile phones to end users grew 30 percent over the same quarter in 2005 reaching 41.3 million units. Growth in this region was driven by strong new subscriber additions in countries such as Nigeria, Russia and Ukraine while countries such as Poland, South Africa and Turkey saw strong replacement sales.

In the first quarter of 2006, the North American mobile handset market recorded sales just under 40 million units, up almost 16 percent from the same period last year. This was a record setting first quarter, and the second strongest quarter ever in North America. Sales of mobile terminals to end-users in Latin America were 24.6 million units for the first quarter of 2006, a 31 percent increase from the same period last year.

In Asia/Pacific, a surge in demand from emerging markets such as China and India, as well as increasing replacement in mature markets, contributed to higher-than-expected growth in the first quarter of 2006. Total handsets sales totaled 64.4 million units in the first quarter of this year, up 36 percent from the first quarter of 2005.

In Japan, mobile terminals sales surpassed 12.6 million units in the first quarter of 2006, a six percent increase from the same period last year.