Gartner: 3Q world cell sales up 22 percent

LONDON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Cell-phone sales increased 22 percent worldwide during the third quarter, topping 205 million units, according to a report released Tuesday.

The British consulting firm Gartner Inc. noted the increase was the largest quarterly gain in the global market since it began monitoring sales in 2001.

"Sales grew in all regions as replacement sales in mature markets such as Western Europe and North America continued to drive growth while users in emerging markets joined mobile networks and acquired their first mobile device," said analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Gartner noted major sales increases around the 40-percent level in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Western Europe and North America saw somewhat lower increases that were driven by replacement purchases and provider churning.

Nokia led the market-share categories with 32.6 percent of the 3Q world market, which translated to about 67 million units. Nokia was followed by Motorola (18.7 percent), Samsung (12.5 percent) and Sony Ericsson (6.7 percent) and the remainder of the sector.