Nokia Rules Sales Charts, Credit Crunch Beginning To Bite
Mobile phones are still big business in 2008 despite economic issues curbing growth in the coming year, according to market analysts Gartner.
Everyone’s favourite phrase the ‘credit crunch’ is to blame, with market growth predicted to slow down and a general downturn to be on the cards for all manufacturers, Nokia included. The increasing competitive environment does have an upside for the consumer in the form of lower phone prices, however.
Despite their table-topping Q2 sales of 120 million handsets accounting for 40% of the industry as a whole, Nokia are still tightening the purse strings to focus on emerging markets and mid-tier phones to ride the turbulent time.
Samsung cements their second place standing with sales of 45.7 million units to claim 15.2%, whilst Motorola stay strong in third with 30.4 million (10%). A sad time for Sony Ericsson in fifth place, with recent comments by Sony CEO Howard Stringer adding fuel to rumours of a strained commercial relationship between the two firms.
The preference of mid range (read: cheaper) as opposed to luxurious phones, as well as the longer duration of contracts tying customers in are all contributing factors to the changing landscape of the industry. Nevertheless, Gartner predicts attractive forthcoming handsets like the Samsung i8510 and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 will keep the industry buoyant through the rest of the year, leading to sales of over 1.28 billion handsets for 2008.
Tags: i8510, Nokia, samsung, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X1
