Moto drops behind Samsung

Predicted for awhile now, Samsung has finally moved into the number 2 position in worldwide mobile sales. Nokia edged up a bit to just over 30% (still a healthy lead). Perhaps even more interesting is that LG edged out SonyEricsson for the #5 position.

Derek Kerton writing for TechDirt states that Motorola is expected to bounce back to #2 in the next quarter through discounting and new product introductions. But even if they can put some numbers on the board for a single quarter, this does not describe a strategy for keeping the #2 position (or competing against Nokia). Instead, Samsung is likely to continue to expand their lead. Why? First because they are in a much better position to take advantage of the growing market in Asia (the fastest growing market for cell phones in the world). And second because they have adopted a strategy of building phones for every platform -- Microsoft, Nokia's Series 60, and their own proprietary OS.

Regarding the LG vs. SonyEricsson match up, Reuters quoted Gartner analyst Ben Wood as saying that both companies did well, despite LG's edging SE out of 5th place: "Both are growing. The Sony Ericsson brand is growing in stature, and LG was able to take over fifth place as a result of big deals with CDMA operators in North America."

Tony Smith, writing for The Register offers a broader round-up of analyst data, pointing out that not all of the data shows Samsung pulling ahead of Motorola. In-Stat/MDR shows Motorola still in the #2 slot.

In-Stat put Motorola's and Samsung's market shares at 14.1 per cent and 13.8 per cent, respectively. SA's had the two on 13.9 per cent and 13.5 per cent, so it's clearly a close-run thing whichever way you look at it. Gartner put their shares at 13.4 per cent (Motorola) and 13.8 per cent (Samsung).

This has been a long slide for Motorola, whichever way you look at it. Dave Carpenter, writing for the Associated Press in a piece that appeared in eWeek points out that five years ago Motorola was number 1 in worldwide cell phone sales.