EL SEGUNDO, CA??The cell-phone industry has proclaimed the end of the recession following an outstanding final quarter of 2009. According to iSuppli Corp., it also has projected substantial growth for smartphones this year. A total of 1.15 billion cell phones were shipped in 2009. Although down from the 2008 figure of 1.2 billion handsets, shipments in the fourth quarter of 2009 represented the culmination of an increasing growth pattern throughout last year. Compared to third-quarter shipments of 290 million, about 335 million mobile handsets shipped in the fourth quarter??up 15.5 percent.
??Given the recovery of the market in the final quarter of 2009??and with Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/Africa regions doing exceptionally well during the period??the recession can be said to be officially over for the cell phone industry,? says Tina Teng, Senior Analyst for wireless systems at iSuppli. Smartphones are projected to expand 35.5 percent in 2010. This growth will be driven by several factors: the introduction of entry-level smart phones, enthusiasm from vendors across the mobile-phone and PC industries, the prevalence of 3G network deployments, and the promotion of data-centric services in mature markets.
With handset shipments in the fourth quarter of 2009 amounting to approximately 257.6 million units, the top five players accounted for a 77-percent share of the total handset market. Nokia Corp. remained the leader, shipping 126.9 million handsets, a 37.9-percent share of market. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. held the number-two spot with 20.6-percent share. For more information, go to www.isuppli.com. The report is titled, ??Mobile Handset Industry Foresees End of the Recession,? and is authored by Tina Teng.