Cell phone shipments up for 1st year in 3

Nikkei | February 9, 2011

TOKYO (Nikkei)–Domestic shipments of cellular phones and PHS (personal handyphone system) handsets grew 6.3% to 33.27 million units in 2010, the first uptick in three years.

Shipments are still off 36% from the 2003 peak, according to Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association data released Tuesday. But the downward trend in cell phone shipments, ongoing since 2008, has come to a halt. A key factor behind this is surging demand for smartphones.

Yet shipments of conventional cell phones are sagging amid the popularity of smartphones.

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