Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. slipped past Motorola Inc. to become the world’s No. 2 mobile-phone manufacturer, according to new numbers from research firm Gartner Inc.
According to Gartner, Samsung sold 22.9 million mobile phones in the third quarter, just above the 22.4 million phones Motorola sold. Gartner tracks the number of phones sold to end users. Other research firms, including IDC and Strategy Analytics, track the number of phones that handset manufacturers ship to their carrier customers. According to that method of tabulation, Motorola can keep the No. 2 position in the third quarter with shipments of 23.3 million phones to Samsung’s 22.7 million. Nonetheless, the competition for second place is fiery.
“Samsung’s move into second place was a result of strong global performance, delivering an increasing spectrum of products based on multiple technologies,” said Gartner principal analyst Ben Wood. “It performed particularly well in North America. Despite this, it remains neck and neck between Motorola and Samsung for second place as 2004 comes to an end.”
According to Gartner, Nokia regained some of the market share it lost during the past two quarters. The Finnish handset maker sold 51.7 million phones in the third quarter to score a 30.9-percent market share. Wood said Nokia needs to maintain its momentum and address shortcomings in its CDMA phone line-up.
Gartner said Siemens scored a strong third quarter with sales of 12.7 million phones, while LG Electronics Co. Ltd. pushed out Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications for the No. 5 slot with sales of 11.1 million phones.
Worldwide mobile phone sales surpassed 167 million units in the third quarter, Gartner said, a 26-percent increase from the third quarter of last year. Indeed, phone makers continue to push new devices as shown by a variety of new announcements.
- Canadian carrier Telus Mobility said it will sell Motorola’s high-end V710 camera phone with Bluetooth for $300 with a three-year service contract.
- Nokia said it will build a manufacturing plant in India-an investment of as much as $150 million over four years-to meet growing demand in the country.
- Nextel is selling the BlackBerry 7520 from Research In Motion Ltd. for $300. The device features Bluetooth and global positioning system functions.
- Southern LINC is selling the lightweight Motorola i265 phone for $100.
