Three of the top six handset vendors in the world lost market share last year, as did the "other" category that captures the multitude of second-tier vendors determined to swim upstream against a strong current. That current is generated by the momentum that scale and aggressive business models afford: Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.-the world's number one, two and four vendors by volume-all gained share last year. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and BenQ Mobile all lost share, with BenQ plummeting from the top tier after shuttering European and Latin American businesses and retreating to Taiwan and Asian markets. Meanwhile, growth in the handset market is forecast to slow this year, though global volumes will top 1 billion for the first time, according to market data released by Gartner Inc., which provided the market share figures.