Mobile phone market expected to slow in 2009

No surprises here. Analysts at IDC say the mobile phone industry will ship fewer handsets in 2009 than it has in 2008. They predict total mobile phone volumes will be 1.9% lower in 2009, which is the first annual downturn since 2001. [Press release]

Mobile phone market shows effects of global financial crisis

Research company IDC says the global financial crisis is being felt by the mobile phone industry, with sales down significantly in the third quarter of 2008. Their figures show that manufacturers shipped 299 million handsets in Q3 2008, up 3.2% from last year but down 0.4% from the previous quarter. Historically, the third quarter has seen an increase as manufacturers prepare for Christmas. Average selling prices for mobiles have also begun to drop. Nokia leads the list of mobile manufacturers with a 39.4% market share, Samsung is second with 17.3%, Sony Ericsson has moved up to third place with 8.6%, Motorola is fourth with 8.5% and LG is fifth with 7.7%. Strategy Analytics has calculated similar figures; they say 303 million cellphones were shipped worldwide in Q3 2008, up 5% year-on-year, which is the industry’s weakest growth rate since 2002. [IDC press release; Strategy Analytics report]

Mobile phone shipments up 14.3% in Q1

Market analysis company IDC says mobile phone shipments in the first quarter of 2008 were up 14.3% from the same period in 2007 although, as expected, they'd fallen from the previous quarter. Over 291 million mobiles were shipped worldwide in the first three months of this year. [Press release]

Mobile industry has a record Q4 2007

Analysts at IDC say 334 million mobile phones were produced worldwide during the fourth quarter of 2007 - a new industry record - although overall growth during 2007 has slowed slightly. 1.144 billion devices were shipped in 2007, which represents year-on-year growth of 12.4%. Nokia was the leading manufacturer, with Samsung overtaking Motorola to move into second place. Sony Ericsson was fourth and LG was fifth. [Press release]