After an expected post-holiday slump in handset shipments in the first quarter of the year, the worldwide mobile phone market grew at a respectable pace in the second quarter, with most vendors citing success in emerging markets. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 272.7 million units worldwide in Q2 '07, about 6.9 percent more than the quarter earlier, and 16.5 percent more than the same quarter a year ago.

While year-over-year growth increased compared to that of first quarter, it is still significantly lower than the 22 percent growth seen in 2006. The slower growth can be attributed to the high market penetration rate in more mature regions, which limits growth primarily to replacements. Much of the growth in unit volumes derives from emerging markets where new subscribers are being added at a clipped pace.

Among the top vendors, Samsung beat Motorola for the number two spot in global market share after four years of stable rankings. Following a slow first quarter, Motorola announced a dismal performance in handset shipments in the second quarter. This news came days after Samsung's announcement of its fourth straight quarter of record shipments.

“Following multiple quarters of increased growth, Samsung was able to benefit from Motorola's recent stumble," says Ryan Reith, research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. “Samsung’s Ultra Edition line of handsets has allowed the company to provide a wide range of handset selections for the upper-tier of the market while maintaining characteristic design. This platform approach has been beneficial for Samsung and the vendor plans to further expand on this business practice,” Reith adds.