According to The NPD Group, mobile phone sales to consumers in the US reached 34.8 mln units in Q1 2006. This number represents an increase of more than 11% compared to Q1 2005. NPD estimates total Q1 2006 consumer sales of nearly $2.3 bln. Motorola continued its leadership in the US market during Q1 2006, boosting its share sequentially from 27% to 29% as it continued to ride the success of its popular RAZR models. Nokia and Samsung followed with 18% with LG at 15%.
In the GSM market, Motorola led the pack with a 39% share of the market, followed by Nokia with 24% and Samsung with 16%. In Q1 2006, LG was the leader in CDMA handsets with a 31% market share, Samsung reached 20% and Motorola in third place at 13%. Among the most popular mobile phone features, sales of Bluetooth-enabled devices have increased significantly in the 2004. The number of handsets sold equipped with this short-range wireless technology have risen dramatically from 9% in the Q2 2005 to 18% in Q1 2005.
| Mobile phone sales in Q1 2006 | |
| Motorola | 29% |
| Nokia | 18% |
| Samsung | 18% |
| LG | 15% |
| Kyocera | 4% |
| Sanyo | 3% |
| Sony Ericsson | 3% |
| UTStarcom (Audiovox) |
2% |
| RIM | >1% |
| Palm | >1% |
| Source: NPD | |