Larry Dignan over at ZDNet.com is reporting that the NPD Group today announced its second quarter handset sales tally. According to the report, 28 million units were shipped to consumers, down 13 percent from a year ago.
NPD says that second quarter handset revenue was $2.4 billion, down 2% from last year.
From the NPD press release:
Quarterly unit-sales of handsets fell to their lowest level, since NPD begin tracking the category in 2005, said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD. Even so, most major manufacturers picked up market share that was lost by Motorola.
Dignan says that what is notable about NPD's figures are the market stats.: He says that Motorola has 21 percent market share and Samsung and LG each have 20 percent. So, looks like its a three way tie. Nokia trails with 9 percent and RIMs BlackBerry has 7 percent.
Dignan lists the key stats:
- QWERTY phones were 28 percent of total handsets sold in the second quarter, compared to 12 percent a year ago. Thats most likely due to larger smartphone adoption and gadgets like the Palm Centro.
- 81 percent of phones sold were Bluetooth enabled with 65 percent of phones music enabled.
- Average selling prices for handsets in the second quarter were $84, up 14 percent a year ago. That total was down from $87 in the first quarter.
- AT&T has 29 percent market share with Verizon Wireless getting 26 percent. Sprint and T-Mobile each had 11 percent.
According to the NPD press release, the average selling prices (ASPs) paid by U.S. consumers reached $84, an increase of 14% in Q2 2008 compared to the same period a year ago. However, Q2 2008 ASP declined nearly 4% when compared to Q1 2008 ($87) due to price declines seen on brands like LG, Motorola, Nokia and RIM. The Centro had a price decline too this year.
Yep, I'm sure that the Palm Centro helped to raise the percentage of QWERTY phones sold this year. We know they've been selling like hotcakes. The Centro is sold through Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T.
And I would think that AT&T's large percentage in the market share has something to do with the iPhone selling so well, plus the release of the new iPhone 3G.
