Cell Phone Shipments Worldwide Rise 19 Percent to Reach Record 208.3 Million in Third Quarter <By Mark Jewell, AP Business Writer Thursday October 20, 3:38 pm ET>
BOSTON (AP) -- Worldwide shipments of mobile phones reached a record 208.3 million during the third quarter as consumers snapped up so-called "smart" phones that feature computer-type capabilities.
IDC also reported Thursday that each of the top five handset makers posted record shipments during the quarter, with No. 1 Nokia Corp. and No. 2 Motorola Inc. showing the most impressive growth.
It was the second time shipments have topped 200 million during a single quarter, surpassing the 205.7 million shipped during last year's fourth quarter. The third-quarter tally also marked a 19.1 percent increase over last year's July-September period.
"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 IDC's Ramon Llamas. "As vendors announced new products earlier this year and accelerated their time to market, we've already reached this milestone."
Nokia posted 29.6 percent growth over the same quarter a year ago. The Finnish company's market share was 32 percent, up from a 29.4 percent a year ago.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola posted 66 percent growth on strong sales of its ultra-thin RAZR clamshell phones and the new ROKR, which comes loaded with iTunes music software in a partnership with Apple Computer Inc. Motorola's market share rose to 18.6 percent during the quarter.
No. 3 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. fell behind with growth of 18.1 percent and a market share of 12.9 percent. Rounding out the top five were LG Electronics Inc. with 31.4 percent growth and a 7.4 percent share, and Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between LM Ericsson and Sony Corp., with 29 percent growth and a 6.6 percent share.
Other cell phone makers collectively saw shipments decrease 14.7 percent, giving them a total market share of 22.5 percent.
IDC, based in Framingham, Mass., said overall growth was driven in part by the continuing emergence of smart phones. However, the report did not provide a breakdown between shipments of traditional handsets and smart phones.
New product introductions, particularly in western Europe, helped third-quarter growth outpace the 16.5 percent gain of this year's second quarter and 10.2 percent growth in the first quarter.
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