Consumers bought more than 309 million cell phones worldwide in the third quarter of 2008, Gartner said today, up from 305 million in the second quarter. That’s a 6% increase from the same quarter in 20007, but less than half of last year’s growth rate of 16%, the analyst firm said.
Nokia sold nearly 118 million phones in the quarter, followed by Samsung with nearly 53 million phones. Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG all contended for third place by selling 24.8 million, 24.6 million and 24 million, respectively.
Apple finished in seventh position with 2 million units sold of its iPhone, just behind BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.
Overall, nearly 117 million phones were sold in the Asia-Pacific market, nearly 58 million in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 47 million in North America and 43.5 million in Western Europe. Gartner did not announce sales for the Latin American market.