The mobile phone is 23 years old and during 2006 it reached a significant milestone with sales of over 1 billion units.
Market researchers at IDC and Strategy Analytics found that 300 million phones were bought in the fourth quarter, a rise of 22% on the previous year. Nokia sold over a third of all phones in Q4 and maintains its position as market leader.
Growth during 2006 stood at 24.7 percent and 2007 should see 1.1 billion mobile phone sales, up 12% on last year.
Emerging markets such as China and India are responsible for most of the sales figures but profits are mostly made in selling high end handsets.
Strong demand for Sony Ericsson products saw 61% growth during 2006 and saw the company overtake Samsung and become the third largest manufacturer.
