WebProNews

Forget about a prospective slowdown in cellphone sales; instead, sales have jumped dramatically.

First quarter sales expanded dramatically for cellphones. 180.6 million units were shipped, as compared to 153.7 million units a year ago, according to a Gartner research report.

Sales were up worldwide, as existing users in North America and Europe upgraded their phone while entry-level phones sold well in emerging economic areas. Phones sold particularly well throughout Asia and the Pacific during the holiday seasons there.

Gartner named a couple of firms in particular, lauding their performance. Motorola finally introduced an interesting handset, the Razr, and the company gained ground in relationships with cellular providers.

Samsung was noted for its advances in eastern Europe and in Russia, becoming the leader in those markets. Overall, though, Nokia maintained its lead in the cellphone market, with a 30.4 percent market share. Motorola has 16.7 percent, and Samsung has 13. LG is in the mix with 6.2 percent.

German phone maker Siemens dropped to 5.5 percent market share, the only company to lose ground this way. Gartner predicts smaller makers will likewise lose share and fall out of the market altogether.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.