Nokia's position at the top of the mobile phone market is unchallenged, according to a review of worldwide mobile sales by Gartner.

The Finnish firm increased its market share to 36.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2007, leaving the next three biggest manufacturers - Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson - with a combined share of 37 per cent.

Overall mobile phone sales were up 17 per cent on the year, according to the report. Asia showed the strongest growth with a 40 per cent rise, while Europe managed just 11 per cent.

"Nokia's devices business seems to be doing everything right at the moment," said Carolina Milanesi, a research director for mobile devices research at Gartner.

"Apple stole the limelight in the quarter with the introduction of its iPhone in North America, but we will only be able to assess its impact in the quarters to come. "

Motorola had a bad quarter, the report found, losing around seven per cent of its market share but managing to stay in second place with a series of price discounts.

Milanesi warned that Motorola would need to revamp its product offerings, which are looking long in the tooth.

Samsung had a good quarter, with strong sales to the channel, but is still in third place. Gartner analysts warned that it too needs to focus on design to avoid its offerings "blending into one model: a black, thin phone".