Nokia increased its share of the global mobile handset in the first quarter of 2007 but growth in the industry has slowed considerably.

A total of 252 million handsets were shipped worldwide in the quarter, up 12 per cent on the same period in 2006 according to Strategy Analytics.

This was the first quarter in almost two years that year-on-year growth has been below the 20 per cent mark, the analyst firm notes. It blamed slower progress on a build-up of inventory in the fourth quarter of 2006 with Motorola accounting for much of the stockpile.

The study found that Nokia is the market leader with 36 per cent global share, up from 33 pe rcent for the same period last year. This is the highest share the Finnish manufacturer has held since Strategy Analytics began tracking the market. Nokia's gain came largely at the expense of Motorola. With a total of 45 million handsets sold, Motorola saw its share of the market drop to 18 per cent, down from 22 per cent a year ago.

Third-placed Samsung had record sales in the quarters with 35 million handsets shipped worldwide giving it a 13 per cent share of the market, the firm's highest for two years. Sony Ericsson is in fourth with a nine per cent share, having shipped 22 million units.

Copyright © 2007, ENN

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