WIRELESS AND MOBILE NEWS

According to The NPD Group, , mobile phone handset sales to consumers in the U.S. totaled 28 million units in the second quarter (Q2) of 2008, which is a 13 percent decline since the same period a year ago. NPD estimates total second quarter 2008 consumer sales of nearly $2.4 billion, down 2 percent since Q2 last year. Motorola is just barely in the lead.  QWERTY smartphone sales saw the greatest increase. The average price of phone was $84.

Following is the breakdown of the top five manufacturers' share of units sold to U.S.consumers in Q2 2008:

• Motorola 21%
• Samsung 20%
• LG 20%
• Nokia 9%
• RIM Blackberry 7%

As in previous quarters, phones sold in Q2 2008 were, by and large, more feature-rich than those sold the year prior. Handsets sold with a QWERTY keyboard saw the greatest year-over-year rise, with 28 percent of handsets sold with this feature in Q2 2008, versus just 12 percent the year prior. Smartphone sales comprised 19 percent of all mobile phone sales in Q2 2008, an increase of 9 percentage points since the same period a year ago. Also this quarter 81 percent of phones purchased were Bluetooth enabled (up from just 69 percent from last year), and 65 percent of phones purchased in Q2 2008 were music enabled (versus 45 percent last year).

The average selling prices (ASPs) paid by U.S. consumers reached $84, an increase of 14 percent in Q2 2008 versus the same period a year ago; however, Q2 2008 ASP declined nearly 4 percent when compared to Q1 2008 ($87) due to price declines seen on brands like LG, Motorola, Nokia and RIM.

Carrier stores continue to lead all retail channels when it comes to handset sales, maintaining their collective share of 63 percent of unit sales in Q2 2008, compared to just 8 percent for mass merchandisers and 6 percent for electronic specialty stores.

Among specific carriers, AT&T expanded its unit-sales lead posting a 29 percent share, versus 26 percent for Verizon Wireless, and 11 percent for both T-Mobile and Sprint.

ATT’s gain was owed to an increase in sales for pre-paid as well as post-paid handsets.

NPD noted stable consumer sales from Samsung and Nokia and a jump in sales for Sony Ericsson and RIM.

Methodology: NPD compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically representative sample. Results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers. Note: NPD does not track corporate/enterprise handset purchases.