Sales of mobile phones were down 16.4% in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2008, says Gartner. It is the first decline in the region since Gartner began tracking the mobile device market in 2001. However, global sales of mobile phones continued to grow, primarily driven by emerging markets. Gartner estimates that around 294.3m mobile phones were sold worldwide in Q1, a 13.6% increase over the same quarter in 2007.

"Mature markets felt the pressure of an uncertain economic environment," says Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices at Gartner. "Sales of high-end devices, in particular, were lower as consumers turned to mid-tier devices when looking to upgrade their old phones."

Nokia maintained its world leadership, accounting for 39.1% of handsets sold in Q1, followed by Samsung with a 14.4% market share.