Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from Macworld UK. Visit Macworld U.K.’s blog page for the latest Mac news from across the Atlantic.
Apple’s iPhone has kick-started the niche smartphone market, expanding consumer expectations to include these devices. At least that’s what’s suggested by the latest Gartner figures released Monday.
Gartner claims 32.2 million smartphones were sold in the second quarter this year, up 15.7 percent from the year ago quarter—though economic worries are impacting the market.
“The current economic environment continues to negatively impact the market, limiting consumer spending and replacement purchases in general,” said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner. However, he noted that the July introduction of the iPhone 3G had helped create stronger growth in the third quarter, in which smartphones accounted for 11 percent of mobile sales.
He said the North America market grew 78.7 percent year on year during the quarter, making up for nearly 25 percent of the global smartphone sales.