Gartner raises 2005 mobile phone sales estimate to 810 million

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Worldwide mobile phone sales during the third quarter of 2005 were 204 million units, up 22 percent from a year earlier. The global increase in mobile phone sales has led the consultancy Gartner to raise its sales forecast to 810 million in 2005, compared to the 779 million previously forecast.

According to Gartner, the third quarter represents record growth in the mobile phone market over the past four years, being most visible in the Western European and Asia / Pacific markets.

Nokia and Motorola increased their market share compared to competitors in the third quarter of this year, leading the table. Finnish Nokia’s market share rose to 32.6 percent, compared with 31.9 percent in the previous quarter.

Nokia sold 67 million devices, a significant increase when compared to the same period last year (52.22 million). Motorola strengthened its position to 18.7 percent, registering a sales volume of 38.5 million, distancing itself from Samsung, which is in third place.

Both companies have benefited from strong demand for mobile phones in Asian markets, particularly with the low-end models. For the North American and European markets, the focus is on introducing new capabilities in mobile phones, such as cameras and music players, in an attempt to avoid falling equipment prices.

Samsung maintains the third position in the ranking of manufacturers and SonyEricsson moved to the fourth place, ahead of LG.

Regarding the third mobile generation, Gartner predicts that the expected boost will not occur yet this year, as could be predicted by the drop in prices in the last quarter, due to the lack of capacity of mobile operators to launch more attractive applications for users.

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