To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (45908 ) 10/31/2009 3:07:59 AM From: Johnny Canuck Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 70743 October 30, 2009 2:10 PM PDT Cell phone sales inch up in third quarter by Lance Whitney Font sizePrintE-mailShare1 comment Yahoo! Buzz .The cell phone sales slump may soon be over. The global cell phone industry captured mild gains in the third quarter, with total shipments reaching 287.1 million units, according to a report released Friday from IDC. That number marked a 6 percent decline from the same quarter in 2008 but a 5.6 percent jump over 2009's second quarter. With the third-quarter figures, the mobile phone business is likely showing the first signs of a rebound since the recession, according to IDC's "Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker." During the third quarter, the industry pushed older devices at lower prices, leading to greater demand and higher volume, said IDC. Another report released Friday, this one conducted by Strategy Analytics, offered similar findings and forecasts for the cell phone trade. The report, called "Q3 2009 Global Handset Market Share Update," pegged cell phone shipments for the third quarter at 291 million, slightly higher than IDC's number. Since the rate of decline was slower than in the previous quarter, Strategy Analytics expects the industry to see positive growth in the fourth quarter as the recession winds down. "We forecast 300 million handsets to be shipped worldwide in Q4 2009, growing 3 percent from 294 million units in Q4 2008," said Strategy Analytics Director Neil Mawston in a statement. "We believe this will be the first time the industry has returned to positive growth since Q3 2008, signaling an end to the handset recession after four quarters of decline. Consumers and handset vendors are gradually regaining a little confidence."