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Mobile Phone Shipments Will Reach 1 Billion

Global mobile phone shipments grew an impressive 31 percent year-over-year, to reach 229 million units during Q1 2006, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics.

Neil Mawston, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics said, "Total global handset shipment growth, driven largely by emerging markets such as India, is at its highest rate for almost two years. We expect strong demand to continue throughout the coming months and we forecast that full-year sales will reach a record 1.00 billion units worldwide by the end of 2006 - this represents 22 percent growth from 817 million in 2005."

Other findings from thier study include:

- The share gap between Nokia (33 percent) and Motorola (20 percent) stands now at 13 points, down from 19 points in Q1 2002;
- LG opened up a 1 point share gap over Sony Ericsson at the cost of profitability, struggling to balance growth with carrier-customization demands.

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