European phone sales slip

25-05-2005

by Deirdre McArdle

During the first quarter of this year there was an 8 percent drop in mobile phone shipments in Europe, indicating a tough market for mobile phone makers.

That's according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, which showed that the total number of mobile phones shipped in Europe during the quarter amounted to 37 million, down from the 41 million shipped during the same period a year ago.

Strategy Analytics puts the decline down to the colour phone upgrade cycle coming to an end. Chris Ambrosio, director of Strategy Analytics' Global Wireless Practice, sees the rest of 2005 panning out in a similar vein.

"Moving into the second half of the year, we expect conditions to remain tough, as operators and their device partners will be challenged to drive a compelling range of feature-rich 3G handsets into growth-driving, prepaid, retail price points below EUR150," Ambrosio said, in a statement.

Competition in the mobile marketplace remained competitive during the quarter, according to Neil Mawston, associate director of the Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service at Strategy Analytics.

In the sector, Nokia retained its number one spot with a 35 percent market share. Meanwhile, Samsung made some inroads; it jumped from fourth position on the mobile phone vendor's table overtaking Motorola and Siemens to claim second place and capturing 14 percent of the market. US mobile phone maker Motorola claimed 13 percent of the market during the first quarter.

LG had an impressive quarter, doubling its market share year-on-year as a result of heavy 3G handset sales. Meanwhile French mobile maker Sagem continued to gain steady market share, due to sustained improvements in its product portfolio, according to Strategy Analytics.

Looking ahead Mawston told ElectricNews.Net that he expects the second and third quarters to be flat in terms of mobile shipments with a slight pick-up in the fourth quarter as is usual with the holiday season.