Mobile phone sales perk up in fourth quarter

From CNET News.com: Global sales of mobile phones dipped slightly in 2009 overall but did stage a fourth-quarter recovery, according to new figures from Gartner.

Last year, consumers worldwide bought 1.21 billion cell phones, a 0.9 percent decline from the prior year. However, a surge in smartphones and low-end devices boosted fourth-quarter sales to 340 million units, an 8.3 percent gain over the fourth quarter of 2008, the market researcher said Tuesday.

Selling prices also took a hit last year. Intense competition forced cell phone manufacturers to keep prices low, especially in markets like China and India.

Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson all saw lower sales and lower market share in 2009 from the prior year.

As the economy rebounds this year, Gartner expects prices to stabilize and sales to return to double-digit growth. But competition will continue to put pressure on profit margins.

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