Global mobile sales surge 20 per cent in 2003

Coming off vigorous growth in 2003, mobile phone sales are poised for a continuing surge this year, market researcher Gartner said on Wednesday.

In 2003, worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 520 million units, an increase of 20.5 per cent over the previous year. That jump was driven by purchases in emerging markets such as China and India, as well as by replacement demand in more mature markets.

The first quarter of 2004 is already looking strong, setting the stage for a full-year total of 580 million units, Gartner said. That figure is in line with a forecast of 585 million units from another market watcher, Strategic Analytics.

Nokia remained on top of the market in 2003, though its share declined marginally to 34.7 per cent from 35.1 percent in the preceding year, mainly as a result of loss of share in Western Europe and growing competition from smaller players in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Finnish phone-maker also became the market leader in North America, displacing Motorola, which saw its share decline in the last quarter of the year. Motorola paid heavily for a lack of timely delivery of some products in the CDMA segment, Gartner said. However, the US company, which finished 2003 with a worldwide market share of 14.5 per cent, shows signs of regaining lost ground in 2004.

Samsung held onto third place worldwide in 2003 with a market share of about 10 per cent and its focus on high-end products meant higher average selling prices and double-digit profit margins. In contrast, fourth-placed Siemens focused on low-cost and low-margin products but made strong gains in the third and fourth quarters in emerging markets in Eastern Europe. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications rounded out the top five.

"The Asia/Pacific market remained strong in the fourth quarter, fully recovering from the impact of SARS earlier in the year," Ann Liang, an analyst for Gartner, said in a statement. "The vendor competition in China remained as fierce as ever as local vendors fought for market share, while the market continued to surge in India."

Dinesh C Sharma writes for CNET News.com.