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Gartner: LatAm mobile sales up 13.7% in 3Q06
(BNamericas.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sales of mobile phones in Latin America increased 13.7% in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the year-ago period, with 29.8 million units sold, according to international consultancy Gartner.
Gartner's research shows that growth slowed significantly compared with 3Q05, but the firm still expects full-year growth rates to be in the mid-teens, driven by increasing sales of upgrade and replacement handsets.
"In general, operators' promotions have become less aggressive as penetration rates leveled off," said Tuong Nguyen, Gartner analyst for mobile terminals research.
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) regained the top spot in Latin America after losing it to Motorola a year ago and retained its worldwide leading position with 35.1%, up 2.6 percentage points.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) increased its worldwide market share but experienced challenges in some regions such as Latin America, where it lost its number one position, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where it fell from second place to third.
Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 251 million units in 3Q06, a 21.5% increase from the same period last year. Asia Pacific was the fastest growing region this quarter.
As a result of the strong quarter, Gartner raised its global mobile phone sales forecast to reach 986 million units in 2006, with 281 million units in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Copyright 2006 BNamericas.com
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