Mobile market grinding to a halt in first half, year uncertain overall; Nokia could win
Though wireless is probably better positioned to weather a historically weak economy than many other industries, it's not bulletproof by any stretch of the imagination -- and following years of double-digit year-over-year growth, a slowdown of some sort is all but inevitable. The extent of the slowdown is a subject of endless debate among analysts, with some suggesting year-end contraction as low as 3.5 percent and others saying the market could slow down by as much as 10 percent or more, but one thing everyone seems to agree on is that smartphones are best positioned to continue to grow. Interestingly, the changing economic picture seems poised to entrench the big players like Nokia and Samsung and put the little guys even further behind, with Nokia -- despite its forecast of negative growth in '09 -- possibly adding to its already immense share of the global market. Sucks to hear that mobile sales are going downhill along with everything else, but hey, at least smartphones are continuing to win big, and 2009's shaping up to be another breakout year.
