Everyone is app-crazy, particularly when it comes to the iPhone. But grab some beers with your friends or coworkers, and let the smartphone debates begin. The chit-chat usually pits BlackBerry loyalists against iPhone enthusiasts, a discussion sprinkled with Storm-hating, AT&T-hating, buttons-loving, and touch-screen-ambivalent opinions.
Sound familiar? Probably, but if economic conditions continue to worsen, the debates may focus more heavily on older models, or shift to something different entirely. According to a recent research report by Gartner, purchases of smartphones are slowing based on decreased discretionary spending. During the recent fourth quarter, the group counted worldwide sales of 38.1 million smartphones, up 3.7 percent year-over-year.
That is moving in the right direction, but troublesome for a so-called growth category. The gains were also far cooler than previous periods. During the third quarter, for example, year-over-year sales boomed 12 percent; second quarter gains were a comparable 11 percent.
Suffering is top smartphone maker Nokia, whose sales slid 17 percent last quarter, according to the report. BlackBerry owner Research In Motion (RIM) boomed 85 percent during the period, and the story on Apple was mixed. After an impressive, third quarter debut of its second-generation iPhone, sales in the fourth quarter cooled. Specifically, fourth quarter iPhone sales moved to 4.4 million, from 6.9 million during the summer quarter, and analysts are dialing down expectations on current-quarter sales.
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