Worldwide mobile phone sales continue to slide

Gartner reports year-on-year decline approaching 10 per cent

Nokia continued to dominate the handset market, but with a smaller overall share

The recession continued to affect the mobile phone sector during the past quarter, with worldwide mobile phone sales slumping nearly 10 per cent from the first quarter of 2008, according to new figures from Gartner.

Worldwide mobile phone sales totalled 269.1 million units in the first quarter of 2009, a 8.6 per cent year-on-year decrease, although smartphone sales were up, the analyst firm said.

Smartphone sales surpassed 36.4 million units during the quarter, a 12.7 per cent increase from the same period last year.

The overall decline in sales is the largest of its kind since Gartner began monitoring the market on a quarterly basis in 2001, according to research director Carolina Milanesi.

"This was also the first time the market contracted year over year during the first quarter, a period traditionally helped by strong seasonality in the Asia/Pacific market," she added.

Nokia continued to dominate the handset market, although its share dropped from 39.1 per cent to 36.2 per cent year on year, while Samsung maintained second place and improved its market share to 19.1 per cent, with sales of 51.4 million units.

Motorola regained fourth place after dropping to fifth in the fourth quarter of 2008, overtaking Sony Ericsson.