US Cell Phone Sales Drop For First Time Ever
For the first time since it started monitoring mobile phone sales, analyst firm NPD notes a decrease in the number of handsets sold in the United States for the first quarter this year by a significant 22 percent.
The cause has less to do with a mature market than with a squeeze on the economy and consumers' buying power, the firm says. NPD estimates sales of about $2.7 billion during the first quarter of 2008, down from $2.9 billion during the same period last year.
"Cellular phone service has become a practical necessity in modern life; however, with looming economic concerns on the horizon, many consumers may be holding back on new handset purchases, especially those tied to new pre-paid plans," Rubin said.
Market share among the handset makers stayed mostly the same, with Motorola still on top with 27 percent of all units sold, although that's down from 35 percent a year ago. Rounding out the top five are Samsung at 18 percent, LG at 8 percent, Nokia at 8 percent and BlackBerry with 5 percent. Dropping out of the top five was Sanyo.
Smart phones, like BlackBerrys and Palm Treos, continue to make up more of the market, comprising 17 percent of all phone sales, but these higher priced items are often used for business, so the cost is absorbed by a company and not an individual consumer. It's these individual consumers who are causing the dip in sales overall.
Bernstein Research says the U.S. wireless industry added 23% fewer subscribers in the first quarter, compared with the year-earlier period. The slowdown started six months ago, with fewer plans being purchased for kids and by people hit hard by the fallout from the subprime meltdown.
So, does this mean we've reached the peak of cell phone adoption, and with only 1 in 6 US households having eschewed landline service altogether in favor of their wireless handsets? In our opinion, it's not likely. Between the rise of the iPhone/smart phones and the pure convenience and savings that cell phones offer, it looks like this latest sales drop is just a temporary blip on the way to the wireless future.[Source: USA Today]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bgatlake said 12:33PM on 5-20-2008
That's because everyone and their dog has one. People use them incessantly in every venue. No one needs to talk that much. It's annoying and dangerous when driving.
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michael.singletary said 12:49PM on 5-20-2008
Maybe everyone finally bought an iPhone and is just happy with it?
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Beejcctx said 1:01PM on 5-20-2008
I know I am thrilled with my iPhone - we have 3 in our family- and all three of us use our phone everyday
Jim Oziah said 1:30PM on 5-20-2008
I have a cell phone that I use primarily for emergencies. I really don't care for ANY of the cell phones on the market. I don't need or use about 90% of the gadgets on them. I don't send text messages etc. What I need in a phone, I can't get without all of the things I don't need or use. Why can't the cell phone makers just make a "simple phone with simple useful things for simple people" like me? Make it simple like, "I need to send and receive phone calls" and "I need to be able to have the amswering machine aspect for incoming calls". Have it where things a person wants can "simply" be added on without having to take all of the gadgets that most people never use. The market was definitely designed to get the teen sales..........why else for having the "gadgets?"
The TWO year contracts are also a burden. Let's face it. Americans are "on the go." There are some pretty stiff penalties incurred when you move and have a long contract remaining. This can amount to several hundreds of dollars. For me, a more realistic approach would be for a one year contract and lesser harsh penalties.
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RustyFL said 6:23PM on 5-20-2008
Jim Oziah,
For a very simple to use phone, go to www.jitterbug.com. It was designed for those who have little or no need for optons. I have no idea how well it works, but it is manufactured by Samsung. The provider is "Great Call, Inc. of California, unknown to me.
RustyFL
Alan Hills said 1:33PM on 5-20-2008
In 1973, I had a telephone in my car (radio phone). The equipment took up half the trunk space. It was a party line and connections were easily obstructed by bridges, mountains, etc. Still, as a salesman, it was a big help. People would pass me in traffic and get whiplash as they did a double-take to see that I was driving and talking on a phone.
Today, cell phones are more common than colds, Gang bangers, homeless people - everyone has a cell phone. It's easy to understand that the market has become saturated.
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Glen said 1:41PM on 5-20-2008
I think this type of reporting is going to just become repetitive; sales are going to drop on everything as fuel and food prices rise. Average folks are the consumers, and average folks only have so much money to go around. It only makes sense that the fringe markets are going to decline.
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brittani said 1:44PM on 5-20-2008
i love my cellphone.
its a great use.
hooray for phonesssss !
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Sarah Beth said 3:02PM on 5-20-2008
Personally being a person of the younger generation I know we (my generation) have grown up with cellular phones. I honestly remember times without them, but would not want to go back to that time. I know that I depend on my phone quite frequently and I do not even use a house telephone anymore due to the fact that my cell phone provides me with everything I need.
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guil12 said 1:48PM on 5-20-2008
Don't own a cell phone and never will. Don't want to be one of those people that get on buses, trains, etc and annoy the hell out of those around them yakking on a cell phone the entire trip. Forcing you to move to another seat. I hate the damn things. People crossing the street, driving a car with cell phones. No wonder they get hit. Biggest mistake the world has ever made with cell phones. Do away with them. I've even seen people using them in offices where there's a sign saying no cell phones. Selfish unfeeling people use cell phones.
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jim said 8:39PM on 5-20-2008
Why not get rid of that pesky internet too? Wake up and smell the 21st. century.
shanein845 said 3:12PM on 5-20-2008
I been using cell phones since my childhood ages and I come to the conclusion that a lot of lives and business would have been destroyed with out that direct communication. So the folks that say no to cellphones just remember technology is always advancing so jump on the wagon and stop crying because something new will be out soon and I for one don't want to hear those certain people on the trains or buses crying that someone is talking to loud, Get an Ipod lol
Greg said 1:46PM on 5-20-2008
Cell Phones are Evil.
I happen to work in a place (a hospital ER) where we tell people NOT to use their sell phones, guess what they still do.
Further more their users are rude and take offense when aske dto turn them off. More than once our security has had to take cell phones away from 'people' who take photos of other patients
"becuase they look funny" and violate their privacy.
DEATH TO CELL PHONES!
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Theresa said 2:42PM on 5-20-2008
Cell phones and the internet are part of our present and future Things were much easier before all of this new technology came to be We have to check our email instead of walking to the mailbox. Our kids use the internet for reports and projects instead of walking to the library. And we wonder why everyone is getting FAT. Let's go back to the way it use to be and we might all loose weight and our wallets would be fatter because we wouldn't have to pay for all this conveinence.
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Karin said 2:59PM on 5-20-2008
It could also be that people are waking up to the dangers of cell phone use. I watched a 30 year old man who was a cell phone addict die of brain cancer. I would not let my kids own a cell phone due to the risk of the radiation. I actually get a hot earache after using my cell phone. It is so much safer to use a land line. And, you can never find your cell phone when you need it!
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reuben said 3:12PM on 5-20-2008
I hope this means the addiction is waning... Technological
changes are one thing, but come on... This country overdoes everything... Food, car size, you name it!
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jamcarr3 said 3:18PM on 5-20-2008
i have had enough of cell phones the phone companies sell your number [thanks att] when contract is up i am taking phone to att in ocala florida with my 4 lb. hammer and when store is full i am going to go to counter and smash phone and leave it on counter tell all att screws you by mailing bills late so they can charge late fee and florida state attorney has been notified.
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Michael Wright said 3:31PM on 5-20-2008
Cell phones are nuisance devices. I particularly despise people who use them in public libraries. Cell phone use is rampant in the libraries of both the University of Oklahoma and in Norman. The administrators of these facilities are miscreants.
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diana said 3:38PM on 5-20-2008
do believe with time those cell phones are dangerous , dangerous to the braincells , the knowledge and information that has been pumpted in to cell phones poses deadly threads to long time users, will kill braincells, and will cause cancer of the brain, people playing with radiation and that is a deadly play, the trouble is more and more people using cell phones even more children using cell phones, cell phones shuld only be used rearely in cases of emergencys ,, nothing else , the radiation that close to the ear will turn deadly, or severe brain damage, manufacturers couldent care less, millions have been manufactured and the have to be sold to get rid of them , to get the money back out the put in , my advise is,,, stay away from cell phones , only use them in emergencys, never for long and private talks, think,, before you havent got a brain anymore to think, destroyed by a cell phone,,
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Angela Bostick-Dixon said 3:45PM on 5-20-2008
For everyone that took the time to put in their cents via the internet Ms. hot ear your conversations are way too long hang up the phone. Someone dying from a brain tumor has not been linked to cell phone use. For everyone who does not like the internet stay off it and stop sending negative stupid comments. Thank goodess for the freedom of progress. I dont need to see a horseman with my mail.
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