IDC reports mobile phone market robust

The worldwide mobile phone market continued double-digit growth in the second quarter of this year as competition for high-end devices escalated, according to IDC, a technology researcher based in Framingham.

The total number of phone shipments grew 15.3 percent from the same quarter in 2007, according to IDC's worldwide mobile phone tracker. A total of 306 million units were shipped in the second quarter of this year, compared to 265.4 million shipped at this time last year.

Despite economic challenges, vendors have continued to experiment with and release new devices with advanced features, said Ramon T. Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's mobile devices technology and trends team, in a press release.

In North America, vendors introduced a number of feature phones before the debut of the much-anticipated iPhone 3G. Many such phones included touchscreens, music capabilities, and GPS.
(By Elizabeth Campbell, Globe correspondent)