Sony Ericsson,Nokia and Motorola Set Record Highs as Global Mobile Phone Shipments Reach 235 Million Units in Q2 2006

Nokia and Motorola dominated sales and accounted for a record 55 percent combined share during the quarter, as described in the newly published Q2 2006 Global Handset Market Share Update report.

Neil Mawston, Associate Director of the Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service at Strategy Analytics said, "Motorola has recorded an average 52% annual growth over the last four quarters, while Nokia has averaged 32%. If Motorola can continue this breakneck pace - a stretch, but not totally inconceivable given the strength of their core designs - it would overtake Nokia in the first half of 2007. The stars would need to align for Motorola on additional new products, 3G, and component supply, but this should be a strong warning for Nokia which should feel pressure to more rapidly improve both entry- and mid-tier product offerings in terms of both designs and numbers."

Chris Ambrosio, Director of the Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, added, "Sony Ericsson is another vendor who has achieved both balanced product design and brand relevance with its Walkman products, resulting in record highs for the joint venture in shipments, revenues and profits. The important story for Sony Ericsson is the notable improvements in getting new products out and into channel on time - and profitably. If Sony Ericsson can continue in this area, where it has struggled in the past, the Walkman and Cybershot brands from Sony have legs to provide strong growth well into 1H 2007."

Other findings from Strategy Analytics' Q2 2006 Global Handset Market Share Update include:

Sony Ericsson jumped back into fourth position for the first time in 2 years, as demand surged for its Walkman music phones;
The market share gap between Motorola (22%) and Samsung (11%) opened to its widest point since 1999, as Samsung continued to miss out on the boom in emerging GSM markets.  www.strategyanalytics.net

Exhibit 1: 2006 Global Shipments and Market Share Estimates - Top 5 Vendors.