Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, increased its market share during 2005 to 35 per cent. It sold 82 million phones in the three months to December 31, 2005. According to research by technology analyst Gartner, this is its best market share figure since the second quarter of 2003. Second placed Motorola’s share also increased to 17.8 per cent, mainly on account of the success of its cheap handsets in emerging markets, and elsewhere with its popular, ultra slim Razr model. Sony Ericsson, a London-based joint venture between its Japanese and Swedish parents, slipped to fifth place behind LG, after making some gains in the third quarter due to the popularity of its Walkman-branded phones. Total mobile handset sales reached a record level of 816.6 million worldwide during the year, a 21 per cent increase over 2004.
