13% of mobile phones sold in 2005 to be 3G

3G service launches and the subsequent increase in 3G handset development saw explosive year-on-year growth of almost 850% in Q4 2004, driving the proportion of WCDMA handsets to 6% in 2004 compared to 1% in 2003. IDC forecasts WCDMA handsets to increase to around 13% of total mobile phone shipments in 2005, particularly in light of service launches from T-Mobile and O2 in Q1 2005 and new 3G handsets such as Nokia 6680 and Sony Ericsson K600i.