The study found that, worldwide, Nokia sold 31.2 percent of all handsets. The study noted that Nokia had lost market share in previous quarters but made up for some of those losses by cutting prices. Motorola barely hung on to second place with 14.1 percent market share but Samsung leaped into third place with 13.8 percent. That represented a 34 percent increase for the Korean vendor.
Siemens was in fourth place with 7.2 percent and LG passed Sony Ericsson in the last quarter for fifth place, with 7.2 percent market share, according to the study.
Overall cell phone shipments for the quarter were 165 million and full-year shipments were 653 million, a 22 percent increase compared to last year. However, the research firm predicted slower sales next year, with growth of only between 7 percent and 9 percent.