Sixty-five percent of phones purchased in the second quarter 2008 were music-enabled, compared to 45 percent of handset sales a year ago, according to a new report by market research firm The NPD Group. On the whole, however, mobile phone sales declined in Q2, totaling 28 million units, off 13 percent year-over-year. NPD estimates total second quarter sales approached $2.4 billion, down 2 percent since Q2 last year. Motorola's unit-sales share fell from 27 percent in Q1 to 21 percent, and while the manufacturer remains atop the U.S. market, both LG and Samsung are closing in, with 20 percent unit-sales shares each.
NPD adds that phones sold in the second quarter were typically more feature-rich than those sold the year prior, continuing a trend from previous quarters; handsets boasting QWERTY keyboards experienced the most impressive year-over-year rise, accounting for 28 percent of handsets sold in Q2 2008, compared to just 12 percent a year earlier. Smartphone sales represented 19 percent of all mobile phone sales in Q2, up 9 percentage points over a year ago--in addition, 81 percent of phones purchased were Bluetooth enabled, up from 69 percent last year.
For more on the NPD report:
- read this release