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 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 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]