Smartphone Sales Growth Hit By Slowing Economy

Research firm Gartner said 32.2 million smartphones were sold in the second-quarter this year, a 15.7% increase from the year-earlier period, but flat compared to the first-quarter this year. The growth in sales of smartphones continues to slow, weighed by the weakening economy and slowing consumer demand. Last year's second-quarter smartphone sales saw robust growth of 55% on year. Smartphone sales made up 11% of total device sales in the quarter. The North America market grew 78.7% year on year during the quarter, making up for nearly 25% of the global smartphone sales. Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 21% in the quarter, while Western Europe drove much of the growth in the region with a 29.3% increase. Sales in the Asian/Pacific market fell 4.8%, while sales in Japan fell 24%.