Global cellphone sales race past 1 bln mark-survey

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Global sales of mobile phones totaled a record 1.02 billion units in 2006, an increase of 25 percent over 2005, and 299.6 million units in the fourth quarter, a survey found on Thursday.

Nokia (NOK1V.HE) improved its position as the No. 1 handset vendor in the fourth quarter with a 35.2 percent market share, compared with 34.3 percent in the third quarter and 34.1 percent in the year-ago period, market research group Strategy Analytics said in its quarterly survey.

Motorola MOT.N improved its market share to 21.9 percent from 20.8 percent in the third quarter and 18.2 percent a year ago. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), as the No. 3, lost ground.