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Korean Producers Continue Global CDMA Supremacy

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200411/kt2004112618382111800.htm

By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
South Korean cell phone makers continue to stay in the driver¡¯s seat in the world¡¯s code division multiple access (CDMA) phone market, according to a U.S.-based research institute.

Strategic Analytics on Thursday announced Samsung Electronics has sold roughly 6.9 million CDMA phones during the July-Sept. period to secure a back-to-back quarterly top ranking.

Samsung¡¯s archrival LG Electronics has shipped some 6 million phones during the third quarter for the second slot and Nokia was a distant third with 3.9 million units.

Samsung got off to a somewhat rocky start this year as 2003 champion LG extended its CDMA dominance into the first quarter with a 19.8-percent market share against Samsung¡¯s 18.5 percent.

However, Samsung outpaced its ferocious local rival during the next three months by jumping its share to 23.2 percent while LG lost ground to 18.4 percent.

Korea has been touted as a powerhouse for CDMA as the nation opted the offspring of Qualcomm as its national standard and more than 36 million people today carry phones made under the format.

As for the global standard for mobile communications (GSM), the alternative system prevalent in Europe, Samsung made a gigantic leap by tying for second with Motorola with sales of 12.8 million phones during the third quarter.

``Because the GSM market explains more than 70 percent of the world¡¯s handset sales, our progress in the sector will bode well for our future. We expect to outclass Motorola in the final quarter,¡¯¡¯ a Samsung official said.

LG also advanced substantially by carving out a 4.7-percent niche in the GSM market during the same period to take sixth position, up three notches from the previous quarter.

On the back of such notable performances in the two mainstream cell phone standards, Samsung closed in on Motorola in the overall market.

Samsung accounted for 13.6 percent of the global market, just 0.3 of a percentage point behind the world¡¯s runner-up player Motorola, which trails Nokia¡¯s 30.7-percent share.

LG also increased its hold to 7 percent to grab the fifth slot, outpacing Sony-Ericsson¡¯s 6.4 percent.



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11-26-2004 18:40