The results represent an increase of 18 percent from the same quarter last year and were driven by consumers upgrading their cell phones to models that offer color screens or cameras.

Of the top players, Nokia and Samsung Electronics Co. managed to improve their share of the increasingly competitive cell phone market.

Motorola Inc., Siemens AG and SonyEricsson, the venture of Sony Corp. and Telefon AB LM Ericsson, all lost market share in the period.

Nokia, with a first-quarter market share of 35 percent, continued to have more than double the share of its nearest rival. And even with more than 50 percent of almost all global system for mobile communications, or GSM, markets in Europe and Asia, the Finnish manufacturer will grow in these regions during the year, Gartner said.

Nokia sold 39.5 million cell phones in the first quarter, according to Gartner.

Consumers are being drawn by cell phones that can send color photographs, pictures and sound. Vodafone Group PLC, the world's largest wireless operator, said last week that as of the end of March, its customers had activated 413,000 cell phones capable of sending multimedia messages.

The report said there are more than 100 cell phone manufacturers competing in the market, it is likely to be pressure to lower prices as companies struggle to survive.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved