We in the US have a strengthening love affair with the cell phone. According to the research group NPD, sales for the first quarter of this year were 39 million units for 3 billion dollars worth of sales. That's up 12 percent from the same quarter last year in terms of sales volume.

The top selling brands are:

Motorola 35%
Samsung 17%
LG 15%
Nokia 10%
Sanyo 4%

Nokia dropped from 19% a year ago to 10% in the past quarter. Their exit from the CDMA market may have something to do with this.

Here's the NPD Group's press release:

"The NPD Group: U.S. Mobile Phone Sales Reached
Nearly $3 Billion in First Quarter of 2007

Handsets see 12 percent sales growth year-over-year in Q1;

Motorola leads in mobile phone manufacturer market share

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, May 22, 2007 -- According to The NPD
Group, a leading consumer and retail information company, mobile phone sales
to consumers in the U.S. reached 39 million units in the first quarter of 2007.
This number represents an increase of 12 percent compared to sales during
the same period in 2006. NPD estimates total first quarter 2006 consumer
sales of nearly $3 billion.

"The U.S. handset market continues to grow by leaps and bounds," said Ross
Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD. "Once again we did not see a
seasonal drop in the first quarter after the holidays; however, consumers are
embracing capabilities such as Bluetooth, removable memory, and music
capabilities far ahead of last year."

The top five handset manufacturers remained the same this quarter versus
the same quarter last year; however, their rankings shifted. Motorola
continued its leadership in the U.S. market during the first quarter, boosting
its share from 30 percent in Q1 2006 to 35 percent this year. Nokia's share,
however, dropped from 19 percent last year to 10 percent in 2007.

Following is the breakdown of the top five manufacturers' first quarter 2007
market shares:

Motorola 35%
Samsung 17%
LG 15%
Nokia 10%
Sanyo 4%

Carrier stores continue to dominate handset sales, increasing their collective
share from 60 percent in Q1 2006 to 63 percent in Q1 2007. When comparing
Q1 2007 to Q1 2006, Best Buy (43 percent gain) and Circuit City (40 percent
gain) experienced the largest sales gains among this segment of handset
retailers.

Methodology: NPD compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on
more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month.
Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically
representative sample. Results are projected to represent the entire
population of U.S. consumers."