Flagging economy hurts US handset sales – mobile phone sales down

While some of us would happily eat noodles packaged in styrofoam cups for a month to get the latest and greatest mobile technology to hit the market, most people will probably pass over the next great thing in favor of a decent meal. At least, that seems to be the case in the US – handset sales in the country tanked last quarter, compared to the same period a year ago.

The flagging economy has started to affect cellphone sales in the US. According to a new report from the NPD Group, US mobile phones sales were down a whopping 22% in Q1 2008. But, while handset sales overall took a nosedive, it turns out that smartphone sales increased 10% to comprise 17% of all cellphones sold last quarter. The surprising statistic could indicate that higher-end handset customers are more insulated from economic downturns than those in the market for lower- to mid-range phones.

Of the 31 million units shipped last quarter, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) managed to move more hardware than its competitors in The States. Moto’s struggles continue, however, with its US marketshare dropping to 27% from 35% a year ago. RIM, makers of the popular BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) lineup of push-emailing smartphones, managed to make the top 5 with a 5% marketshare.

Will the struggling economy continue to affect handset sales this year? With new hardware from several carriers expected to make a huge splash later this year, it might be safe to say that manufacturers are hoping to see an upturn in the US economy.

[Via: MocoNews]