Asia-Pacific phone sales rise 24%

Asia-Pacific phone sales rise 24%

SINGAPORE: Asia-Pacific mobile phone sales, excluding Japan, rose 24.1 percent to 164 million handsets in 2004 on strong demand for low-tier models, the Gartner research house said on Friday.

Reigning market leader Nokia increased its total annual sales in 2004 by 28 percent to 50.6 million handsets, driven by the popularity of its mid- and low-tier models in emerging markets India and China, Gartner said.

"Phones with cameras and color screens accounted for the majority of sales in the low-tier segment, slowly eroding the share of black and white display handsets," Gartner analyst Ann Liang said.

Third-generation (3G) handsets, meanwhile, proved unpopular among Asians in 2004, although sales were expected to pick up this year as the technology became increasingly available in the region, according to Gartner. -- AFP