20 million WCDMA phones sold worldwide in 2004

February 24, 2005

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, "Global Handset Market: Q4 2004 Update," 20 million WCDMA (3G) phones were shipped worldwide, representing 3 percent of total handset sales in 2004. Aggressive mobile operator marketing drove sales in Japan and Western Europe. Motorola and LG were the world's top two 3G mobile phone vendors in the fourth quarter of 2004. 3G has been the hottest topic at this year's 3GSM trade show in Cannes, France.

"After years of hype, 3G finally became a reality in 2004," said Neil Mawston, Associate Director of the Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service at Strategy Analytics. "Mobile operators, such as NTT DoCoMo of Japan and Three in Western Europe, threw their marketing muscle behind 3G, encouraging millions of early-adopters to upgrade their existing 2.5G devices."

David Kerr, Vice President of the Strategy Analytics Global Wireless Practice, added, "Motorola and LG were the world's top two 3G handset makers in Q4 2004. LG, with a 22 percent global share, was notably innovative in delivering attractive, pocket-friendly handsets such as the U8120 model. Both vendors are well positioned for further growth in a market that we expect to double in size in 2005. The key battlegrounds for 3G this year will be improved usability and styling. We expect a stronger position from Nokia in 2005, while Samsung, Sanyo, Siemens and Sharp should all benchmark LG."