Phone sales jump 16pc in Western Europe

24-11-2005

by Charlie Taylor

Sales of mobile phones in Western Europe remain healthy with nearly 40 million units shipped during the third quarter of 2005, up 16 percent year-over-year.

According to IDC's Western European Quarterly Mobile Phone Market Tracker, shipments were up 5 percent sequentially to 39.5 million units. This compares to 34 million sales in the third quarter of 2004.

IDC said that the introduction of new multimedia handsets, increased availability of Series 60 smart phones and heavy promotion of 3G services, all served to accelerate market demand during the quarter.

"Although 3Q lacked the impetus commonly provided by extensive handset launches, the widespread availability of popular feature phones such as the Motorola RAZR, Nokia 6230i, and Sony Ericsson K750i and W800 launched earlier in the year ensured substantial adoption largely through post pay contract renewals and handset upgrades with visibility assisted by extensive promotions," said Andrew Brown, program manager, European Mobile Devices at IDC.

According to the research firm, mobile manufacturers are showing greater commitment to 3G in response to operator demands for handsets that meet different market segments and can deliver services with a lower terminal cost.

During the third quarter, 3G phones accounted for 12 percent of the total mobile market in Western Europe, up from 7 percent a year ago. IDC predicts that 3G shipments will account for 13 percent of the market overall for 2005.

The research company said that Series 60 smart phones such as the Nokia 6630 and 6680 have become increasingly popular with the number of converged devices shipped during the third quarter rising 105 percent year-on-year and 3 percent sequentially to reach 2.8 million units.

Although the enterprise segment was buoyed by RIM BlackBerry and HP Mobile Messenger shipments, IDC stated that overall growth remains dominated by the penetration of the Series 60 platform into the consumer space.

During the third quarter, converged devices (including smart phones and voice-enabled PDAs) represented 7 percent of the total mobile phone market in Western Europe, up 4 percent year-over-year.

Nokia shipped a total of 14.2 million handsets in the third quarter, representing year-on-year growth of 20 percent. The Finnish manufacturer continues to dominate the mobile market with 36 percent share.

Samsung witnessed substantial year-on-year growth, with shipments increasing by 100 percent to 6.2 million units during the third quarter to take its market share to 16 percent. Motorola also saw a sharp rise in the number of mobiles it sold. In the third quarter its market share increased 5 percentage points year-on-year to 15 percent on the back of a 71 percent rise in sales.

In volume terms, Sony Ericsson suffered from the strong market performance witnessed by Samsung and Motorola, with growth remaining largely flat at 5 percent year-on-year. The company's market share fell by 1 percent to 13 percent.

Siemens meanwhile saw shipments fall by 44 percent year-over-year with just 2.9 million sales compared to 5.2 million for the third quarter of 2004. The company's market share also fell from 15 percent to 7 percent.