So did worldwide mobile phone sales increase in 2009, or was the year a bit flat?

Latest figures from US research house Gartner show that the total number of phones sold worldwide in 2009 was 1.211 billion units, a 0.9% drop from 2008. Most of which one day will end up with the mobile phone recyclers.

On a slightly better note, sales in the fourth quarter of 2009 were actually up 8.3% (340 million units) over the fourth quarter of 2008, so the trend is getting better.

Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner, said:
“The mobile devices market finished on a very positive note, driven by growth in smartphones and low-end devices. Smartphone sales to end users continued their strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, totalling 53.8 million units, up 41.1% from the same period in 2008. In 2009, smartphone sales reached 172.4 million units, a 23.8 per cent increase from 2008. In 2009, smartphone-focused vendors like Apple and Research In Motion (RIM) successfully captured market share from other larger device producers, controlling 14.4% and 19.9% of the worldwide smartphone market, respectively.”

Gartner also highlighted the intense competition felt by manufacturers in 2009, not only in growing markets such as China and India, but also in the mature markets. But, Gartner reckons that the stronger economic climate will mean better times throughout 2010.

As to the manufacturers themselves, the big five of Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson had mixed fortunes. As a group, they lost market share to the likes of Apple and other manufacturers, with their combined share dropping from 79.7% in 2008 to 75.3% in 2009.

Nokia’s share of the market dropped from 38.6% to 36.4% as pressure on smartphone price points took their toll. Samsung did actually better in 2009, going from 16.3% to 19.5%. LG also showed a market share improvement, up from 8.4% to 10.1%. But Motorola took a hit, falling from 8.7% to 4.8% and Sony Ericsson also showed a decline from 7.6% to 4.5%.

The worldwide mobile phone market grew by 308.9 million units in the third quarter of 2009 say researchers Gartner. But although that means another 300 or so million phones for the planet to eventually recycle, it’s a paltry 0.1% increase from the same period in 2008. But what about sales in the fourth quarter, and how have the top five manufacturers performed?

Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner, said on the figures:
“The third quarter of 2009 saw the announcement of many new mobile devices, including several Android smartphones ready for the holiday season in the fourth quarter, but hardware commoditisation and the growth in open platforms will make it harder for them to stand out.

“Meanwhile, the channel slowed its inventory-reduction efforts so while some sales volumes increased, average selling prices (ASPs) stagnated. We expect pressure on ASP to continue into 2010.

“Many devices will reach the market in time for Christmas, and mobile carriers will run incentives for consumers during the holidays. We expect sales of mobile devices in the fourth quarter of 2009 to show year-over-year growth. As many vendors and industry watchers call for a decrease in sales into the channel, our sell through data is showing that 2009 performance will be flat rather than down over 2008.”

During the period under review, Nokia remained top-dog with a whopping 113.5 million phones shipped, a handsome 36.7% of the market, although that was down a touch from the 38.2% gained in the third quarter 2008. Nokia was faced with component shortages, but also that familiar problem of not having a knock-em-dead, top of the market smartphone. Nokia dominated the mid-tier market, but seemed unable to make a killing at the upper end.

Samsung consolidated its number two slot in the market with a very strong 2009 third quarter, increasing its market share 2.5% over last year, at 60.6 million units. Samsung got most things right, having a good time with touchscreen devices, qwerty phones and smartphones driving sales in the mature markets of Europe and the US. In emerging markets, it’s policy of refreshing older models helped the good figures.

In common with Nokia, third-placed LG appears more comfortable in the middle ground and lacks a smartphone portfolio. And it did manage to increase its market share from 7.8% to 10.3% with 31.9 million phones shipped.

The remaining two of the big five mobile phone manufacturers didn’t fair so well as their peers. Number four, Motorola, lost 3.5% share of the market, shipping 13.9 million phones, as it waits for fourth quarter product launches. Fifth placed Sony Ericsson dropped about the same market share as Motorola, selling nearly the same amount of phones, 13.4 million, as sales of it’s phones deteriorated.

Its seems that one of the main reasons why once uber cool mobile manufacturer Sony Ericcson is not performing as well these days, is that the company’s range of phones lack internet capability. It was one of the main losers in the latest figures on the mobile phone market. Sony Ericcson dropped from a 7.5% share of the market in the second quarter of 2008, to 4.7% in the second quarter of 2009.

And Gartner, which monitors the mobile phone market and compiles the figures, puts this down not just to a challenging market, but to the lacklustre performance of Sony Ericcson’s uncompetitive handsets.

A Gartner spokesperson said:
“Sony Ericsson has neglected to exploit key trends such as qwerty products for messaging and e-mail, internet browsing and navigation. If it wants to build the presence of its three new products announced this quarter in the channel and capture Christmas sales, the products need to come to market early in the fourth quarter of 2009.”

Of course, all is not lost for Sony Ericcson, a brand which commands a lot of respect in the sector, as the mobile phone market is very susceptible to changing trends and fashions. And with sales of 13.6 million units in the second quarter to 2009, giving it fifth place overall, Sony Ericcson remains a major player.

And although Nokia remains very much the market leader with a 37% share, the manufacturers doing really well were Samsung and LG, with sales of 55 million units and 30.5 million units, respectively, in the second quarter of 2009. Samsung’s story is almost the opposite of Sony Ericcson which, having secured its fair share of touchscreen devices, qwerty phones and smartphones, helped boost its performance in the mature markets. Following a contrary strategy is LG, and gaining some success with it, is LG’s move into low-tier devices designed to exploit growth in emerging markets, especially in China. The 3G rollout in China is a big opportunity for the mobile phone manufacturers and value-for-money devices are in demand.

The fourth player in the top five, Motorola, also had a disappointing quarter, with sales down due to its reliance on the US market and failing influence in Europe. Sales in Western Europe of Motorola handsets were below one million for the quarter under scrutiny.

As the recession eases, it will be interesting to see which manufacturers can properly exploit both the expected upturn in the mature markets and the opportunities in the emerging markets.

It’s World Earth day on Wednesday (22 April 2009) and it’s the one day in the year that we’re meant to pause and consider just what we’re doing to this planet of ours, especially when it comes to mobile phone recycling.

Now, this is mostly a U.S. inspired event, so it might pass unnoticed in Europe, but it serves to focus attention on the state of the planet throughout the month of April. Go onto to the Earth Day site and you’ll get the idea, It’s a collection of festivals, rallies and general environmental activities.

The organisers say that: “Earth Day broadens the base of support for environmental programs, rekindles public commitment and builds community activism around the world through a broad range of events and activities.”

Started way back in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, it’s a chance for people to get eco-friendly and keep their green credentials for the rest of the year at least. So people are encouraged to install solar panels on their roofs, start mobile phone recycling and cut down on car use. And by doing so, also spread the word to others.

The day is trumpeted by the Earth Day Network which reaches over 15,000 organisations in 174 countries. In the U.S, itself there are over 5,000 individual groups and 100,000 educators who co-ordinate millions of community development and environmental projects throughout the year.

And one mobile phone manufacturer, Motorola, is taking the opportunity of World Earth Day to educate people about mobile phone recycling. They reckon that over 400,000 cell phones are finished with each day in the U.S., and that only 10% of these are recycled.

Not only do Motorola believe in not sending old phones to landfill sites, they have manufactured the first mobile phone made from recycled water bottles and by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions in its manufacture, they claim that the MOTO W233 handset is the world’s first carbon neutral phone.

So there you are, don’t let World Earth Day pass without doing something to make you, and the planet, a little greener. Whether it is a bit of mobile phone recycling, or taking all your plastic bottles to the recycling centre, it all helps.