According to the report of market analyst Gartner, in the first quarter of 2008, 294.3 million cell phones have been sold, which is a 13.6% growth compared to the same period last year, but in Europe, where the market is heavily overstocked, there has been a 16.4% decrease. Nokia, world's largest manufacturer, is still a leader with a great advantage, as they have sold 115.2 million devices, which means a 39.1% market share. According to the market analyst the key to the manufacturer's success is its huge portfolio, which provides a number of alternatives for both richer regions and those in development. Although the Finnish manufacturer is powerful in all segments of the market, they will need to introduce new technologies and a smoother design due to the tense competition in the top segment.
The second largest manufacturer is Samsung with 42.4 million mobile phones sold, which means a 14.4% market share. With this result the Korean manufacturer didn't only stay at the second place, which they took from Motorola, but they have further increased their advantage. The analyst claims that the key to their success is that they have rapidly recognized the need for touchscreen devices, while further success would require them to diversify designs and to have a more active presence in the lowe segments.
Motorola's difficulties from 2007 have further increased at the beginnnig of this year. The American manufacturer has sold 29.9 million, which is a serious fallback and a huge deficit. One of the main reasons of the manufacturer's problems is that they are still looking for success in RAZR phones, and although they have launched new phones, the full portfolio is still not competitive with the opponents' offer. Gartner claims that Motorola is improbable to take back the second place from Samsung, moreover it's even possible that they will be preceded by LG too, if they won't concentrate on their products.
LG had a great start this year, as they have managed to sell 23.6 million devices, which is 8% percent of the market and it's enough for the fourth place in this competition. LG's success is mostly due to touchscreen Prada, Shine and KF600 phones' popularity, but at the same time the Korean manufacturer should strengthen its position on the market of smartphones, as their own menu is not popular amongst every user. LG has correctly recognized this need and they have already launched several similar devices.
Sony Ericsson didn't have a very good start for this year, which they have foreseen before the end of the quarter. The 22.1 million sold phones was not enough for maintaining the fourth place, this has been taken over by LG. According to Gartner's analysts the company has all the chances to redeem the fourth position if they strengthen their position in the upper-mid segment.
Translated by Szaszati
