The latest research from Gartner Inc says 1.211 billion mobile phones were sold in 2009, down 0.9% from 2008. However, sales in the final quarter of the year were up 8.3% year-on-year to 340 million units.
53.8 million smartphones were sold in Q4 2009, up 41.1% from the same period in 2008, with the annual total of 172.4 million units representing a 23.8% increase from 2008.
Nokia remained the leading manufacturer in 2009, although its saw its market share drop by 2.2%. Motorola (now in fourth place) and Sony Ericsson (in fifth) also lost share, while second-place Samsung and third-place LG increased their share of the mobile handset market.