U.S. Mobile Phone Sales Reach $11.5 Billion In 2007

Washington, NY - According to The NPD Group, a leading consumer and retail information company, mobile phone sales to consumers in the U.S. reached 146 million units by the end of 2007. NPD estimates total 2007 consumer sales of $11.5B, after rebates and promotions. Some of that revenue growth can be attributed to the fact that more consumers are replacing land-line phones with mobile devices. In Q4 2007 19 percent of mobile phone consumers reported that their mobile phones were their primary phones, versus 16 percent in Q4 2006.

"The mobile phone continues to grow as a key part of consumers' digital lives." said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group. "More consumers are relying on cell phones as their only phones and are willing to invest in their functionality and expression of style."

According to NPD's Mobile Phone Track consumer survey, Motorola continued its dominance of new phone sales in the U.S. market in 2007; however, unit sales comprised just 32 percent of sales in 2007, which is down just slightly from 33 percent in 2006. And while Motorola boasts the two top-selling handsets in Q4 2007, phones from LG, Samsung and Apple rounded out the top 5 models by number of units sold. According to Rubin, "The thin clamshell as popularized by Motorola's RAZR, continues to lead U.S. handset sales. However, sliders and larger screens are driving the trend of putting more access at the consumer's fingertips."

Nokia ranked fourth in 2007, as it did the previous year; however, once again their new sales trended downward from 15 percent in 2006 to just 10 percent in 2007. Samsung continued to increase its share, from 14 percent in 2006 to 17 percent this year.

Following is the breakdown of top four manufacturers' unit share of new handset sales in 2006 versus 2007:

Smartphones showed tremendous growth this year. While smartphones comprised just 6 percent of handset sales in Q4 2006, they represented 12 percent of sales in Q4 2007. Similarly, music-enabled devices have increased significantly since last year, from 34 percent during Q4 2006 to 48 percent during Q4 2007. Coupled with the growth in music capable phones, devices that support removable memory sales grew from just 22 percent in Q4 2006 to 33 percent in Q4 2007.

The percentage of mobile phones sold with Bluetooth capability has also increased significantly in the last year, from just over half (53 percent) in Q4 2006 to nearly three quarters (72 percent) of all phones sold in Q4 2007. Even so, just 19 percent of consumers are actually using this attribute on their phones.

"Last year's introduction of the iPhone established a new level for matching functionality with fashion. In 2008, the handset industry is rising to the opportunity of higher-speed networks with devices that feature enhanced input methods and larger screens. These handsets will set the stage for the best wireless Web and media experiences that consumers have ever had," said Rubin.

Methodology: The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys were based on a nationally balanced and demographically representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers.

SOURCE: The NPD Group