Global mobile phone sales to end-users touched almost 428 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 3.1 per cent fall over the same period of 2011.

Nokia slipped from number three in the second quarter to seventh position in smartphone sales.

Research In Motion, the makers of BlackBerry, moved to number three with HTC at fourth position, according to a study by research and advisory firm Gartner.

Smartphones accounted for 39.6 per cent of the total mobile phone sales, with its sales rising 46.9 per cent from the third quarter of 2011.

“After two consecutive quarters of decline in mobile phone sales, demand has improved in both mature and emerging markets as sales increased sequentially," said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.

“In China, sales of mobile phones grew driven by the sales of smartphones, while the demand for feature phones remained weak. In mature markets, we finally saw replacement sales pick-up with the launch of new devices in the quarter.”

Smartphones continued to fuel mobile phone sales worldwide with sales rising to 169.2 million units in the third quarter of 2012. The smartphone market was dominated by Apple and Samsung.

“Both vendors together controlled 46.5 per cent of the smartphone market leaving a handful of vendors fighting over a distant third spot,” said Gupta.

“Both HTC and RIM have seen their sales declining in the past few quarters, and the challenges might prevent them from holding on to their current rankings in coming quarters,” Gupta added.

While seasonality in the fourth quarter of 2012 will help end-of-year mobile phone sales to end-users, Gartner analysts said that there will be a lower-than-usual boost from the holiday season.

>rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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