U.S. mobile-phone sales take a hit

From CNET News.com: Mobile-phone makers are already feeling the pinch in the U.S. market of an economic slowdown amid tough competition.

U.S. mobile-handset sales were down 13 percent in the second quarter compared to the same quarter in 2007, NPD Group said in a study released Tuesday.

In total, mobile manufacturers sold 28 million units in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2008, with sales of roughly $2.4 billion, marking a decline of about 2 percent compared to last year's second quarter, NPD said.

Samsung warned investors this summer, following the close of the second quarter, that it sees challenges ahead as the world faces an economic slowdown and competition increases among manufacturers. Manufacturers such as Nokia, on the other hand, are selling high volumes of cell phones overseas, particularly in developing markets. In fact, ABI Research recently predicted that global mobile-handset sales would grow 13 percent in 2008.

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