Cell phones are one of the most common electronic devices that people carry with them. Smartphones and other feature rich handsets are fast taking over the cell phone market as consumers look for devices that can do more and offer entertainment on the go.

Research firm IDC has released its rankings of the top five cell phone makers for Q2 2008 along with some information on the cellular market as a whole for Q2 2008. IDC says that the worldwide cell phone market grew by 15.3% in Q2 2008 compared to Q2 2007. Total handset shipments in Q2 2008 were 306 million units compared to 265.4 million shipped in Q2 2007.

Nokia holds the top spot in the global vendor rankings with a commanding 39.9% of the global market. Nokia shipped 122 million handsets in the quarter. Second place went to Samsung with 14.9% of the market on shipments of 45.7 million handsets. Motorola brings up third place with 9.2% of the market and 28.1 million phones shipped. LG is nipping at Motorola’s heels in fourth place with 9.1% of the market and 27.7 million handsets shipped. Fifth place goes to Sony Ericsson with 8% of the market and 24.4 million handsets shipped.

IDC