Gartner says mobile phone sales overall are up worldwide, although Nokia has slipped a bit in its perennial lead.

Worldwide mobile phone sales surpassed 156.4 million units in the second quarter of 2004, a 35% increase from the second quarter of 2003, according to a new study by market research firm Gartner.

September 2, 2004

Global mobile phones sales surpassed 156.4 million units in Q2, 35 percent higher than 115.8 million units shipped in the same quarter last year, with all regions experiencing healthy sales, according to Gartner Inc.

Replacement handset sales ensured strong results in mature markets such as Western Europe and North America, while strong growth in emerging markets such as Latin America further boosted unit sales, noted Ben Wood, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner, in a statement.

Market leader Nokia’s market share dropped in Q2 to 29.7 percent from 35.6 percent in Q2 2003; however, the company’s market share was up sequentially from 28.9 percent in Q1.

The strongest growth was in Latin America, particularly in Brazil. Western European sales were driven by first time users from 2001 trading up to their second phone with a color screen and camera. North American sales were buoyed by heavy operator subsidies on advanced handsets, which encouraged users to upgrade to more-featured devices. Asia/Pacific mobile phone sales were down slightly from first quarter of 2004, as is typical for this time of year in that market, but still grew over last year.

Nokia once again came out on top by a healthy margin, although that margin slipped slightly as its marketshare fell from 35.6% to 29.7% of the market from the same time last year. Motorola inched up slightly and maintained its number two position with 15.8% of the market, while Samsung is close behind with 12.1% and shows signs of challenging Motorola for the second place spot. Siemens, Sony Ericsson, and LG rounded up the top six, all very close with 6.9%, 6.6%, and 6.0% of sales, respectively, during quarter two.

Total phone shipments for 2004 so far are over 300 million units, and Garner expects that to clime to 620 million units by year's end. However, it could climb as high as 650 million units, which Garner believes would hurt sales for next year as retailers flush out excess inventories. The numbers above reflect shipments to retailers and carriers, not sell-through to end-users.

“Nokia’s price cuts gave it a small gain in market share compared to the first quarter, although the average selling price of its handsets fell in the second quarter. Motorola maintained the second position based on its strong performance in the Americas, but Gartner expects Samsung to be battling with Motorola for the No. 2 position for the remainder of the year,” Wood said.

Second place handset provider Motorola saw its market share slip slightly in Q2 compared with Q1 as it focused on profitability, but was up to 15.8 percent market share from 14.5 percent in Q2 2003. Motorola experienced a solid quarter with strong performances in North America and Latin America, but lost market share in China, the firm reported.

Samsung, which sits in third place for handset shipments, had a successful quarter in terms of shipments. But, Gartner analysis showed that not all of this volume reached end users, resulting in a gap between sell-in volumes and end-users sales in North America. The firm expects sales of this backed up inventory to show in Q3.

On a regional basis, the Western European market was driven by consumers upgrading phones purchased in 2000 and 2001 to smaller color screen phones with built in cameras that have become available at much lower prices.

In North America, replacement sales were high as operators subsidized enhanced handsets, and consumers became willing to upgrade to handsets with more features, particularly camera phones.

Asia/Pacific mobile phone sales were down slightly from Q1, even with the Chinese government’s efforts to control the economy weakened demand for consumer electronics goods, such as mobile phones. In mature markets, such as Taiwan, Singapore and Australia, people held off on buying new phones as they hoped for further price reductions or increases in subsidies.

More than 300 million mobile phones were sold in the first half, and Gartner expects year-end sales to reach about 620 million units, with that number to possibly reach 650 million units if current momentum is maintained.

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General Overview
2004
Mobile subscribers in Western Europe reach 342.43 million
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GSM Leads CDMA in Latin America
Mobile GSM Operator Infrastructure CAPEX Slides
78% of Wireless Minutes Paid For Go Unused
Vodafone results show strong growth in Customers
Russian mobile revenues to exceed USD 9 billion in 2004
UK WAP PAGES TOPS 1 BILLION
109 EDGE networks launched or under construction
Chinese handset exports double
Gartner says mobile phone sales overall are up worldwide
Mobile subscribers in Western Europe reach 342.43 million
WiFi Tariffs in Europe Report
WiFi Wireless hardware market achieving staggering growth
Prepaid cards set to dominate WiFi hotspot market in France
Report on Vodafone: Global Cellular Architect or Market Opportunist?
Global mobile games market valued at EUR 1.65 bln in 2006
1 billion GSM Users for 2004
11.5 mln Europeans aged 55 and over use Internet k
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
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470 million mobile phones to be sold in 2003
1 mln subscribers for Virgin Mobile USA
US Young people prefer mobile phones
GSM gaining ground in North America
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2003
::GSM Tops Americas Growth Charts in 2003
::GSM Data Takes Off
::Wireless e-mail increases productivity
::Mobile gaming grows to EUR 6 billion in 2006
::Web browsers in cellphones lead to higher data usage
::Location services need low cost enablers - report
::CDMA2000 Reaches Over 60 Million Subscribers

Handsets and components
2004
Chinese handset exports double
Gartner says mobile phone sales overall are up worldwide
Mobile subscribers in Western Europe reach 342.43 million
Nokia loses market share to Korean rivals in India
Motorola aims to double Asian mobile phone market share
Nokia loses market share to Siemens and Sony Ericsson
Nokia loses market share to Korean rivals in India
NTT Docomo reports 40 million i-mode customers in Japan
Motorola aims to double Asian mobile phone market share
LG Electronics captures global CDMA market leadership
470 million mobile phones to be sold in 2003
Sony Ericsson seeks 7%-10% market share in 2004
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats

2003
:: Nokia Still Has Number 1 spot in Taiwan Handset Market
:: 23% annual increase in mobile handset sales in in Q3 2003
:: 3Q 2003 Mobile phone sales steady
:: 2Q Handset Stats 2003
:: 1Q 2003 Phone Sales Figures - IDC
::Worldwide market sales for mobile phones grows 2Q 2003
::Sony Ericsson Sales Up in 3Q2003
::GSM Tops Americas Growth Charts in 2003

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Europe
2004
Mobile subscribers in Western Europe reach 342.43 million
CDMA Reaches New Mobile Subscriber Highs Worldwide
Vodafone results show strong growth in Customers
UK WAP PAGES TOPS 1 BILLION
Malta Mobile & Internet Data for Third Quarter 2003 released
WiFi Tariffs in Europe Report
Prepaid cards set to dominate WiFi hotspot market in France
Report on Vodafone: Global Cellular Architect or Market Opportunist?
Nokia loses market share to Siemens and Sony Ericsson
1 billion GSM Users for 2004
11.5 mln Europeans aged 55 and over use Internet k
4.9 million t-zones users worldwide for Q42003
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
111 million SMSs on New Year's Day in UK
Telefonica passes 50 million subscriber mark
470 million mobile phones to be sold in 2003
Telenor and NetCom see decline in MMS use
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats

Europe 2003
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:: UK GSM Text Messaging Numbers Boom
:: GSM Smartphones damper PDA shipments
:: Mobile data to boom in Germany
:: MmO2 boosts subscribers and ARPU
:: Data services in the UK grow 75%

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Asia
2004
Vodafone results show strong growth in Customers
Russian mobile revenues to exceed USD 9 billion in 2004
109 EDGE networks launched or under construction
Chinese handset exports double
Indian Mobile Operators Flunk Customer Satisfaction Test
VMS Vietnam to spend $100m on Mobiphone GSM upgrade
New Mobile Tariffs For India
NTT Docomo reports 40 million i-mode customers in Japan
Nokia loses market share to Korean rivals in India
Motorola aims to double Asian mobile phone market share
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Two Indian GSM mobile companies cross 1-million subscriber mark in Delhi
Nokia loses market share to Korean rivals in India
NTT Docomo reports 40 million i-mode customers in Japan
Motorola aims to double Asian mobile phone market share
LG Electronics captures global CDMA market leadership
1 billion GSM Users for 2004
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
Indian Mobile subscribers up 17.5m in 2003
Australians Sends Masses of New Years SMSs
Sony Ericsson seeks 7%-10% market share in 2004
IDEA India sees a surge in pre-paid subscriber base
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats

2003
:: Chinese GSM and CDMA market to boom
:: Report on Chinas top 5 handset manufacturers
:: China's Handset Boom Tapering Off
:: Indian subscriber base continues strong growth
:: DoCoMo sells over 10 million camera ph
:: India's mobile industry grows 75% in January

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Americas
2004
109 EDGE networks launched or under construction
1 mln subscribers for Virgin Mobile USA
1 billion GSM Users for 2004
US Young people prefer mobile phones
GSM gaining ground in North America
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats

2003
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::Latin American GSM subscriber base more than doubles in a year
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...more on Latin and North American Mobile Stats

Middle East/Africa
2004
::South African SMS & Voice Traffic Jumps Over festive Season
:: Vodacom South Africa in record December 2003 signups
:: Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
:: Starcomms Nigeria CDMA Stats

2003
:: Benin GSM Network has 41,000 Subscribers
:: MTN Nigerian network working to improve service
:: New SA Cellphone Tariffs
:: GSM coverage in Ghana expands
:: GSM Now First Choice For Most - EMC

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SMS & MMS
2004
South African SMS Traffic Jumps Over festive Season
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MMS can generate US$8.3bn by 2004
4.9 million t-zones users worldwide for Q42003
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Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
111 million SMSs on New Year's Day in UK
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US Young people prefer mobile phones
Telenor and NetCom see decline in MMS use
IDEA India sees a surge in pre-paid subscriber base

2003
:: UK GSM Text Messaging Numbers Boom
:: GSM Smartphones damper PDA shipments
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WAP & Mobile Data Stats
2004
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Prepaid cards set to dominate WiFi hotspot market in France
WiFi Wireless hardware market achieving staggering growth
Global mobile games market valued at EUR 1.65 bln in 2006
NTT Docomo reports 40 million i-mode customers in Japan
11.5 mln Europeans aged 55 and over use Internet k
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Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
Wireless MAN worth billions
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Telenor and NetCom see decline in MMS use
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:: Data services in the UK grow 75%
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Ringtones, Games Stats
2004
Global mobile games market valued at EUR 1.65 bln in 2006
NTT Docomo reports 40 million i-mode customers in Japan
11.5 mln Europeans aged 55 and over use Internet k
4.9 million t-zones users worldwide for Q42003
Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
111 million SMSs on New Year's Day in UK
US Young people prefer mobile phones
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Consolidation in the mobile games market
US Mobile Game revenues surge
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3D mobile java gaming standards ratified
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Technologies

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GSM Leads CDMA in Latin America
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UK WAP PAGES TOPS 1 BILLION
:: TDMA Subscribers Reach 82 Million Worldwide
:: LG Electronics captures global CDMA market leadership
:: Starcomms Nigeria CDMA Stats
:: 3G service market to reach 69 million subscribers by 2007
:: Romanian CDMA network reaches subs landmark
:: CDMA2000 Reaches Over 60 Million Subscribers
:: CDMA2000 Reaches 30 Million Subscriber Mark
:: Global CDMA Statistic
:: iPass and Swisscom Eurospot sign Wi-Fi roaming deal
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:: ARESCOM and Boingo Ink WiFi Network Roaming Agreement
:: 4.9 million t-zones users worldwide for Q42003
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:: Wireless MAN worth billions
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:: iPass Passes 1000 Hotspots
:: 1 billion GSM Users for 2004
:: 4.9 million t-zones users worldwide for Q42003
:: Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
:: GSM to pass one billion mark within the year
:: GSM shows impressive growth in the Americas
:: 90% gain for GSM in 2002 in Latin America
:: 95% of countries use GSM
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:: LG Electronics captures global CDMA market leadership
:: 1 billion GSM Users for 2004
:: Cellphones bridge global digital divide - new stats
:: Japanese 3G subscribers top four million says KKDI
:: CDMA2000 Reaches Over 60 Million Subscribers
:: 4.9 million t-zones users worldwide for Q42003
:: Data services in the UK grow 75%
:: UK use of mobile internet trebles in 12 months
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:: NTT Docomo reports 40 million i-mode customers in Japan
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:: Symbian handset shipments to reach 100 million
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:: Symbian issues 2.6 million OS licenses
:: 400 million WAP browser sales says Openwave
:: IDEA India sees a surge in pre-paid subscriber base
:: Canadian Prepaid Wireless Penetration To Grow to 33% by 2006
:: 170 Million Prepaid Customers Crucial to Success of Mobile Data
:: Global Mobile Forecasts to 2010 
:: Germany and UK are top Euro markets for MVNOs - report
:: FixedLine SMS Markets Analysis
:: Camera Phone Sales To Double In 2003

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