Mobile phone sales up 25.5 pc in 2008, says Gartner official

MUMBAI: The sales of mobile phones in India during 2008 grew by 25.5 per cent compared to 2007 but the growth on a quarter-on-quarter basis remained flat, a senior executive of global research firm, Gartner, said.

"India witnessed a growth of 25.5 per cent in sales of mobile handsets during 2008 with 124-million devices sold compared to 98.8-million during 2007," Gartner's Principal Analyst, Anshul Gupta, told reporters here on Tuesday.

"There has not been a substantial growth in sales of mobile phones on a quarter-on-quarter basis in 2008. The country witnessed a flat growth in mobile phone sales," he said.

During 2008, the replacement sales of mobile phones were affected, he said.

"The weakening consumer confidence and current slowdown which led consumers to hold back their decision, resulted in poor replacement sales of mobile phones in 2008," he said.

However, demand for mobile phones from first-time buyers remained strong, he said.