IDC, a provider of market intelligence and advisory services, Thursday said that worldwide shipments of mobile phones declined 6% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2009. Nokia Corp. (NOK) led the list of top five mobile phone vendors, although the company witnessed a slide in unit shipments and market share in the third quarter.
According to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, worldwide mobile phone shipments were 287.1 million units in the third quarter, compared with 305.4 million units a year ago. The worldwide shipments rose 5.6% sequentially from the second quarter.
IDC also said that the worldwide mobile phone market saw mild sequential growth in the third quarter. The market's year-on-year growth remained negative, but improved from the first half of 2009.
Geographically, the North American market posted mixed results for the third quarter. The U.S. posted positive results, whereas the Canadian mobile phone market declined for the third straight quarter despite double-digit converged mobile device growth. The Latin American mobile phone market also did not experience a strong recovery in the third quarter as expected.
Further, IDC stated that the Western European market showed strong signs of recovery in the quarter. In Asia/Pacific, the third quarter was weaker than anticipated, with total shipments declining slightly from a year ago.
According to IDC, Nokia topped the market with third-quarter shipments of 108.5 million units and a market share of 37.8%. However, shipments were down 8% compared with last year's shipments of 117.9 million units. The company's market share was 38.6% in the prior-year third quarter.
Nokia experienced continued pressure during the third quarter in its Devices and Services group. The company also reported a 20% decrease in revenue, ASP decline, and a shortage of components across its product portfolio.
Coming next, Samsung's (SSNLF.PK) mobile phone shipments rose 15.9% in the third quarter to 60.2 million units from 52 million units a year ago. This puts the company well within reach of achieving its goal of shipping 200 million units in 2009, IDC noted. The company's market share was 21% compared with 17% in the previous year quarter. In the fourth quarter, Samsung is poised to launch strategic converged mobile devices running on Android and Linux.
LG Electronics (LGERF.PK) shipped 31.6 million units in the quarter, breaching the 30 million unit mark for the first time in its history. Shipments were up 37.4% compared with 23 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2008. The company's market share also grew to 11% from 7.5% last year. LG expects to launch Android and Windows converged mobile devices in the fourth quarter.
Sony Ericsson's (SNE,ERIC) mobile phone shipments for the quarter were 14.1 million, down 45.2% from 25.7 million a year earlier. The company's market share also slid to 4.9% from 8.4% in the prior-year quarter. According to IDC, the lack of entry-level devices during the economic recession left the company vulnerable as its competitors were able to keep up with shifting demand.
Motorola (MOT) slipped to the fifth place, shipping 13.6 million units with a market share of 4.7%. Shipments declined 46.4% year-over-year. The company's market share for the prior-year quarter was 8.3%. The company has said that it would shift its resources towards converged mobile devices and away from traditional mobile phones in 2010, a move the company hopes will improve gross margins and reduce operating losses.
Others shipped 59.1 million units, a decrease of 3.9% from 61.5 million units in the same quarter of fiscal 2008. Others' market share was 20.6%, compared with 20.1% in the previous year.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.