PARIS - GLOBAL mobile phone sales fell a record 9.4 per cent in the first quarter to 269 million units and will likely decline 4.2 per cent for the full year, the Gartner research group said on Wednesday.
The anticipated fall comes after more than six years of uninterrupted growth.
However, sales of 'smartphones', which enable a user to surf the Internet or watch video, rose 12.7 per cent in the first quarter to 36.4 million units.
Smartphones accounted for 13.5 per cent of mobile phone sales in the first quarter against 11 per cent in the same period last year, according to Gartner.
Nokia of Finland held on to its first place ranking, with sales of 97 million mobile phones but saw its market share fall to 36.2 per cent from 39.1 per cent in first quarter 2008.
Samsung of South Korea, in second place, had a 19.1 per cent share, up from 14.4 per cent, thanks to a 21.4 per cent gain in sales.
Motorola of the United States suffered a near 45 per cent fall in sales in the first quarter and lost its third place position to LG of South Korea. -- AFP
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hyeah: