USA: The global mobile-handset market in the first quarter of 2008 appeared to be unaffected by the economic slowdown, with shipments rising by a double-digit percentage compared to the same period in 2007, according to iSuppli Corp.

Global mobile-handset shipments reached 296 million units in the first quarter of 2008, up 17 percent from 253 million in the first quarter of 2007. While shipments were down 12.4 percent compared to 338 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, this decline represents normal seasonality for the mobile-handset business, which typically undergoes a deceleration following the peak selling period in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of 2007, for example, shipments decreased by 12.8 percent on a sequential basis.


Looking at the leading worldwide suppliers of mobile handsets, the players occupying the Top-5 ranks remained the same—but there was some change in the order compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. The table presents iSuppli's global Top-5 mobile handset shipment ranking for the first quarter of 2008.

Nokia faces North American struggles in Q1
Leading handset brand Nokia in the first quarter easily maintained its market dominance, with shipments of 115.5 million units, which gave it a market share of 39 percent. Shipments were up 26.8 percent compared to the first quarter of 2007.

However, the Finnish company's shipments declined by 13.5 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, which was slightly worse than the market average. This caused Nokia's market share to decline by half a percentage point from 39.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

"Nokia managed to defy the seasonal slowdown in the key strategic territory of China, with its shipments to the nation rising 4 percent sequentially to reach 21 million units," noted Tina Teng, analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli. "China in the first quarter of 2008 grew to account for 18.2 percent of Nokia's worldwide shipments, up from 14.5 percent during the same quarter in 2007."

The company in the first quarter also made gains in the Latin American Market, with 63 percent year-on-year growth to 11.9 million units.

"Despite its progress in China, Nokia is still struggling in the North American market," Teng added. "Nokia's shipments to the region in the first quarter declined to 2.6 million units, a historical low, and a 49 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2007."