Sales of mobile phones around the world fell last year for the first time since 2009 as consumers shunned cheaper feature phones, research company Gartner said yesterday.

“Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences, and intense market competition weakened the worldwide mobile phone market,” said Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta.

Smartphone sales, a category dominated by Samsung and Apple, continued to rise, he added, and the higher-end devices would account for more than half the market for the first time this year.

Total worldwide mobile sales to end-users declined by 1.7 per cent to some 1.75 billion units in 2012, said Gartner. – (Reuters)