Sony Ericsson makes handset gains

Fifth-placed handset maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications said on Monday that it grabbed more share of the worldwide market by shipping a record 8.8 million phones during its first quarter.

Sony Ericsson said its recent successes are due to "strong" sales of middle- and upper-tier mobile phones - a sector of the market traditionally dominated by the world's number one phone maker, Nokia.

But a Sony Ericsson representative still ranked the company fifth in the world in terms of overall shipments, behind Siemens, Samsung, Motorola and Nokia.

Sony Ericsson is the second major handset maker in a week to report gaining market share. Samsung Electronics believes its cell phone division has been gaining directly from Nokia. Samsung's net profit nearly tripled during its recently completed first quarter.

Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila has dismissed any concerns that the Finnish industrial giant's long-time number one status is in any danger. Indeed, Nokia still sells more than a third of the world's mobiles.

But during a conference call last week, he said competitors are taking short-term advantage of "holes" in Nokia's line-up of middle-tier mobile phones.

"There is a major mid-tier market and, since we have those holes, our customers can't move from low end to mid-tier," he said.

Sony Ericsson on Monday also bumped up its overall global sales forecast by 30 million, to 550 million, citing an "overall strong mobile phone market".

Ben Charmy writes for CNET News.com.