Buoyed by heavy purchase of mobile phones in developing countries, such as India and China, global sales of cell phones rose by 13.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to a research report from Gartner.

While the Finnish giant Nokia remained as the largest vendor of handsets, Samsung Electronics stood second with sales of 42.4 million units and 14.4 percent of the global handset market. 

Nokia sold 115.2 million units during the quarter, capturing 39.1 percent of the market. 

But America’s Motorola has continued to lose its market share to rivals. Its market share, according to Gartner, tumbled to 10.2 percent, in the first fiscal quarter. The third largest vendor shipped 29.9 million phones in the first three months of 2008, a 37 percent decline from the year before.

The US manufacturer continues to struggle in finding the successor to its popular Razr. Although it introduced new models, its portfolio does not seem to be competitive enough.

What is more worrying for this American handset maker is Gartner analysts are not optimistic about the company's prospects for the rest of 2008. 

"Motorola is unlikely to introduce many products in the second half of 2008, a time when most competitors will bring new additions to the market, so it stands little chance of winning back its number two position," Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner, based in Egham, U.K.

Decreasing sales in Western Europe pushed Sony Ericsson to fifth place. LG Electronics  had a great quarter. It shipped 23.6 million units, increased is market share by 8 percent and beat out Sony Ericsson to gain the fourth place.

Sales of mobile phones in Western Europe decreased 16.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007, the first decline in this region since in 2001.

“While sales in emerging markets continued to be driven by strong net new subscribers’ growth, mature markets felt the pressure of an uncertain economic environment,” said Carolina Milanesi.

Gartner suggested phone makers that they strengthen their mid-tier offerings in order to cater to those users that might be reticent to invest too much money in replacing their old phones.

Nokia has successfully kept up its position. To stay ahead, Nokia will have to continue to integrate new technologies in its handsets and improve usability and design, Gartner said.

Though LG overtook Sony Ericsson, Gartner says the South Korean vendor needs to build a stronger smartphone portfolio, as consumers and operators have started to place more emphasis on this market segment.

With new products for the second half of 2008 and a stronger mid-tier portfolio, Sony Ericsson is in a good position to win back its fourth place in the market share.

Source:TMCnet