FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-New product launches and portfolio updates helped the worldwide phone market surpass 200 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2005, according to a report from IDC.
The firm’s quarterly wireless handset report indicates shipments rose 19 percent year-over-year and 8.8 percent from the second quarter, reaching 208.3 million units. Each of the top five vendors within the industry-Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.-reached all-time high shipment levels, IDC said, as rankings remained unchanged from the previous quarter.
“Last year, quarterly mobile-phone shipments didn’t reach 200 million units until the end of the fourth quarter, when vendors were keeping the channels’ shelves stocked for the holiday rush,” said Ramon Llamas, a research analyst for IDC’s Mobile Devices business. “As vendors announced new products earlier this year and accelerated their time to market, we’ve already reached this milestone.”
Nokia continued its dominance during the period, increasing its market share to 32 percent as it shipped 67 million handsets. The Finnish manufacturer showed particularly strong growth in China and Asia/Pacific, although it suffered a year-over-year shipment decline in North America.
Motorola’s RAZR and iTunes ROKR phones helped the Illinois-based manufacturer maintain its hold on the No. 2 spot, according to the report.
Despite the strong worldwide growth, though, IDC said manufacturers face an ongoing challenge in addressing an increasingly segmented market.
“Although new handsets will substantially assist market volume growth, the challenge for vendors is to meet differing segment requirements without over-extending the portfolio and adversely affecting margins,” said Geoff Blaber, research analyst for European Mobile Devices.
