Mobile phone shipments always fall from the fourth quarter to the first quarter, but this year the drop was particularly steep according to ABI Research, which reported that worldwide mobile phone shipments were 35 million fewer in the first quarter of 2009 than for the same period a year ago. “The 255.6 million handsets shipped represented a 20 percent decline from Q4 2008, which was already a down quarter, and a nearly 12 percent decline from Q1 2008,” according to ABI Research practice director Kevin Burden. Handset makers are producing less, and carriers and retail stores are holding less inventory: Not to mention that customers are noticing that their current handset has many of the features they’re looking for, and are therefore delaying upgrading their phone.
The drop varied by region, with Asia Pacific seeing only an 8 percent year-on-year decline, but Latin America showing a 28 percent drop in shipments — the larger than average drop due largely to devaluations in its currencies leading to higher prices of imported mobile phones. (Release)
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