Cellphone sales slide in Q3
The usual pre-holiday ramp-up in cellphone shipments didn't happen this year because of the feeble global economy, a research firm said Thursday.
Manufacturers shipped 299 million phones in the July-September period, down 0.4% from the second quarter, according to IDC. The third quarter normally sees a rise in shipments, as stores stock up ahead of the holidays.
Shipments still grew 3.2% compared to last year. But as cellphones have become a global must-have in the last few years, it has been more common to see growth rates of up to 20%.
