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Samsung, Nokia to offer thin phones in bid to win market

Samsung Electronics Co and Nokia Oyj, two of the world's three biggest mobile-phone makers, are offering extras such as Wi-fi and BlackBerry capability on their thin handsets to catch up with Motorola Inc's Razr models.

Samsung has introduced 12 phones, including a slim BlackBerry and a combination device for Wi-Fi and cellular networks, that will be rolled out by carriers including Cingular Wireless LLC, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp and T-Mobile USA this quarter and next, Peter Skarzynski, a Samsung senior vice president, told reporters on Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show in Las Vegas.

Nokia, the world's biggest handset maker, and Samsung, the No.3, are seeking to respond to consumer demand for slim devices following the success of Motorola's thin phones.

Motorola shipped 13 million half-inch thin Razrs in the fourth quarter and its success ushered in a family of products including the Slvr, a so-called candy bar model, and the Rokr, which plays music.

"Thin is in," Sprint Nextel's chief operating officer Len Lauer said in an interview. "In the second quarter, we'll be pushing thin."

Nokia earlier unveiled its 6126 "slim" phone, which is 17mm thick at the Las Vegas show.

Motorola's share of global mobile phone shipments last year rose 2.6 percentage points to 18 percent, the biggest gain among the world's five biggest handset makers, according to Stamford, Connecticut-based researcher Gartner Inc.

Nokia raised its market share to 32.7 percent from 30.5 percent, while Samsung's share remained unchanged at 12.7 percent, according to Gartner.

Among the Samsung models, the T509 model is the slimmest phone at 9.8mm thick, and comes with camera, video recording and Bluetooth capabilities.
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