Growth in sales of mobile phones will slow to about 10% in 2008 as US and Western European markets mature, according to research firm Gartner. However, the economic slowdown in these two regions will have little impact on the handset industry as good demand in emerging markets is driving growth, the company claims. Total handset sales are expected to reach 1.278 billion units in 2008, representing a slowing in sales growth compared with last year. However, sales growth is predicted to rebound by a few percentage points in 2009 as more users look to replace their handsets. Gartner said 1.15 billion mobile devices were sold in 2007, up from the 990.9 million sold in 2006, representing a 16% growth rate.

According to the company, Nokia dominated the sector last year, ending the year with a Q4 market share of 40.4%, up from 36.2% at the end of 2006. South Korea’s Samsung maintained its second position with a Q4 market share of 13.4% compared with 11.3% in 2006. Motorola saw a sharp drop in its Q4 share, falling 9.6% quarter-on-quarter to 11.9% of the market. Sony Ericsson was fourth on 9%, followed by LG on 7.1%.