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: Quote, Profile, Research) 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: Quote, Profile, Research) 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: Quote, Profile, Research), as the No. 3, lost ground.