MEA phone sales surge 30 percent

MEA phone sales surge 30 percent

Smart phones approach 10 percent market share; Nokia is top manufacturer.

June 5, 2010 10:29 by Samuel Potter

Mobile phone sales in the Middle East and Africa region have surged upward, with a year on year increase of more than 30 percent, reports Gulf News.

Sales for the region totalled 34.41 million in the first quarter of this year, compared with 26.16 million in the same period in 2009. The jump represents an increase of 31.53 percent.

“Out of the total units, smartphone sales reached 3.4 million, an increase of 29.92 per cent compared to 2.7 million during the same period last year, as mobile e-mail, rich messaging and social networking continue to drive demand for smartphones across the region,” Annette Zimmermann, Senior Research Analyst, Mobile Devices Technology and Service Provider Research at Gartner, told the paper.

Smart phones made up 9.88 percent of all sales in Q1. Nokia was the top manufacturer, followed by Samsung, LG and then Sony Ericsson.

“Chinese manufacturer G-Five made its debut into the top five for the first time, grabbing 1.8 per cent of market share in the first quarter of 2010 and replacing Motorola,” Annette said.