DeviceGuru

The worldwide mobile phone market is on track to ship 1.28 million devices in 2008 despite the current economic slump, according to Gartner. Given an estimated global population of 6.7 billion, that’s roughly one new mobile phone this year for every 5 people on the planet!

According to the market research firm, nearly 305 million mobile phones shipped globally in the second quarter of 2008, up 12 percent from Q2 of 2007.

“Consumers in mature markets continued to favor mid-tier devices over high-end devices, while new subscribers continued to join mobile networks in emerging markets during the quarter,” explains Gartner’s director of mobile devices research, Carolina Milanesi. On the other hand, “replacement sales remained weak, as consumers faced higher prices for fuel and food in addition to higher levels of inflation,” she adds.

Although unit shipments will grow 11 percent this year over last, Gartner expects the year’s revenue growth to be slightly less, at around 9 percent. Milanesi says this is due to a number of factors, including: increased competition; a tougher economic environment; and the desire to gain market share in emerging markets.

Interestingly, Gartner’s 1.28 billion unit forecast for 2008 is nearly identical to that of Strategy Analytics, which predicted 1.24 billion units for the year.

The table below shows Gartner’s estimates of 2008 vs. 2007 shipments and market share for the top mobile phone vendors. Nokia remains the top vendor, with its market share growing from about 37 percent last year to 40 percent this year. Motorola, meanwhile, continues its downward spiral — from 14.5 percent last year to just 10 percent this year.

For further information regarding Gartner’s latest mobile phone market report, entitled “Dataquest Insight: Market Share for Mobile Devices, 2Q08,” visit the company’s website.