The NPD Group: U.S. Mobile Phone Sales Peak at $8.8 Billion in 2006

Record 4Q drives total new phone sales in 2006 to more than 143 million;

Music-enabled phone sales doubled during 2006 from 16 percent of new phones in Q1 to 32 percent in Q4;

Bluetooth-enabled handsets comprised nearly half of all new sales in Q4 2006

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to The NPD Group, a leading consumer and retail information company, mobile phone sales to consumers in the U.S. reached 143 million units by the end of 2006. In fact, Q4 2006 sales, the biggest sales quarter last year, were 14 percent higher than the same period the year prior. NPD estimates total 2006 consumer sales of $8.8 billion, after rebates and promotions.

“A continual flow of new devices with data-capable features, combined with carrier promotions and rebates, have served to broaden the market of consumers who purchase new phones and wireless plans.”

“U.S. handset sales remained strong throughout 2006,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group. “A continual flow of new devices with data-capable features, combined with carrier promotions and rebates, have served to broaden the market of consumers who purchase new phones and wireless plans.”

According to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, Motorola continued its dominance of both subscriber share and new phone sales in the U.S. market during the year, boosting its share of new phone sales sequentially from 29 percent to 33 percent as it continued to ride the success of its popular RAZR models. While Nokia ranked third overall for the full year, their share of subscribers and new sales demonstrated a steady downward trend. Nokia ranked fourth in new sales in Q4 as Samsung improved its competitive position.

Following is the breakdown of top four manufacturers’ share of new handset sales in 2006:

Manufacturer:      Share:
-------------------------
Motorola           33%
LG                 16%
Nokia              15%
Samsung            15%

Verizon and Cingular/AT&T continued to battle for the top spot in both subscriber share and share of new phone sales. In 2006, Cingular/AT&T comprised 27 percent of all subscribers and 27 percent of all new phone sales. Verizon also comprised 27 percent of all subscribers, but only 23 percent of new phone sales.

Other 2006 findings from NPD include the following:

• Sales of music-enabled devices have increased significantly within the last year, from 18 percent during the second quarter of 2006 to 32 percent during the fourth quarter.
• Coupled with the growth in music capable phones, devices that support removable memory sales grew from just 6% in Q1 to 21% in Q4.
• The percentage of mobile phones sold with Bluetooth capability has also increased significantly in the last year, from 31 percent in Q1 2006 to nearly half (49 percent) of all phones sold in Q4.
• Camera phones continue to be popular among consumers. Two-thirds of all devices sold in Q4 2006 included a camera.

Methodology: The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys were based on a nationally balanced and demographically representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, visit http://www.npd.com/.