Nokia still the King Kong of mobile making

Nokia is still the number one mobile-handset manufacturer in the world, according to market researcher iSuppli.

The Finnish behemoth shipped 348 million units in 2006, giving it a sizable lead over Motorola, which holds the number two spot, according to iSuppli. Motorola shipped 217.4 million units in 2006, a growth of 48.6 per cent since 2005.

It was Sony Ericsson, however, that made the most notable gains in 2006.

Fourth-quarter shipments by the Japanese-Swedish handset maker grew 61.5 per cent over the same period in 2005 - the largest jump in units shipped recorded by the major handset makers, iSuppli said. Sony Ericsson's shipments grew from 16.1 million units to 26 million units for the fourth quarter, moving it into the overall number four spot.

Sony Ericsson pushed LG Electronics into fifth place and shortened the gap between itself and Samsung for the number three spot, according to iSuppli.

Samsung shipped only 5.9 million more units than Sony Ericsson in the 2006 fourth quarter. LG shipped 17 million units during that period, nine million units fewer than Sony Ericsson.

LG shipped 64.4 million units total in 2006, which gave it only 17.4 per cent growth over 2005 but the company hopes to regain fourth place on the popularity of its fashion-oriented Chocolate and Shine mobile phones, according to iSuppli.

Samsung showed a growth of 14.6 per cent overall, shipping a total of 117.9 million units in 2006.

Candace Lombardi writes for CNET News.com