Normally, there is a seasonal drop in the first quarter after the holiday rush; however, these numbers reflect a very healthy market, and we’re seeing strong demand for replacement models and from new subscribers.
Neil Strother, Research Director, Mobile Devices, The NPD Group

According to The NPD Group, mobile phone sales to consumers in the U.S. reached 34.8 million units in the first quarter of 2006. This represents an increase of more than 11 percent compared to the same period in 2005. NPD estimates total first quarter 2006 consumer sales of nearly $2.3 billion.

"Surprisingly, the U.S. handset market continued its strong surge in the first quarter,” said Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices at The NPD Group. “Normally, there is a seasonal drop in the first quarter after the holiday rush; however, these numbers reflect a very healthy market, and we’re seeing strong demand for replacement models and from new subscribers.”

According to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, Motorola continued its leadership in the U.S. market during the first quarter, boosting its share sequentially from 27 percent to 29 percent as it continued to ride the success of its popular RAZR models. Nokia and Samsung followed with18 percent with LG at 15 percent.

In the GSM market, Motorola led the pack with a 39 percent share of the market, followed by Nokia with 24 percent and Samsung with 16 percent. During the first quarter, LG was the leader in CDMA handsets with a 31 percent market share, Samsung reached 20 percent and Motorola in third place at 13 percent.

Among the most popular mobile phone features, sales of Bluetooth-enabled devices have increased significantly in the last year. The number of handsets sold equipped with this short-range wireless technology have risen dramatically from 9 percent in the second quarter of 2005 to 18 percent in the first quarter of this year.