Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) announced that volume of mobile phone shipments in Japan dropped by 47.9% year-on-year (YoY) to 2,084,000 units in August 2008.
Shipment volume of PHS terminals decreased by 62.4% YoY to 82,000 units. JEITA pointed out that the summer selling season did not last long because of the small number of new functions equipped in mobile phones released in the summer. Another reason for the sluggish handset sales is that, due to a change in marketing method, users now have to pay more for a handset than before, according to JEITA.
Shipment of mobile phones with a 1seg broadcasting reception function increased by 20.9% to 1,774,000 units, accounting for a record 85.1% of all mobile phone shipments in Japan. The cumulative shipments of handsets in Japan have reached 41,488,000 units since the research started.
