Smart-phone sales growth continued in the first quarter, proving a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy picture as overall global handset sales fell at a record pace, research firm Gartner Inc. said this week as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Smart phones such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and a growing number of touch-screen devices from other companies have defied the downturn, aided by growth in applications as device manufacturers broaden their reach into both the mid-tier and high-end segments.

Still, the rapid downturn in consumer spending has hammered the wider market as customers delay upgrades and hold off buying new phones.

"There were some signs of a recovery in markets such as North America and China, but overall sales in the first quarter of 2009 registered the biggest quarter-on-quarter contraction since Gartner began monitoring the market on a quarterly basis in 2001," said Gartner's mobile-device research director, Carolina Milanesi.

"We really don't see demand stabilizing before the second half of 2010," Ms. Milanesi said, adding that the global handset market is expected to show growth of 5% to 6% in 2010.

First-quarter sales of handsets fell to 269 million units, down 14.5% from the fourth quarter of 2008 and 9.4% from a year earlier.

However, smart-phone sales increased 12.7% to 36 million units, and represented 13.5% of all mobile-device sales in the first quarter, up from 11% a year earlier, Gartner said.

"Much of the smart-phone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touch-screen products, both in midtier and high-end devices," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner.

"Device vendors will focus increasingly on smart phones, improved user interfaces and services to differentiate themselves and fuel consumer demand," Ms. Milanesi said. "Making sure you have a strong smart-phone portfolio is going to be very important for the vendors, and that is what is going to make a lot of the difference," she added.

Nokia Corp. maintained its market-leading position overall, although its market share dropped to 36.2% from 39.1% a year earlier. Its overall sales fell and the average selling price of its phones declined 18% from a year earlier, Gartner said. However, sales of Nokia smart phones grew after it introduced its 5800 device in more regions. Nokia started shipping its 5800 touch-screen smart phone late last year.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Co.'s market share increased 4.7 percentage points to 19.1% and the company returned to double-digit profitability thanks to a good product mix.

"The announcement of its first Android-based product, the i7500, will help Samsung in a highly competitive second half of 2009," Gartner said.

LG Electronics Inc.'s market share increased to 9.9% from 8%. The company benefited from a very strong portfolio of touch-screen, messaging and imaging devices, said Gartner.

Motorola Inc.'s market share fell to 6.2% from 10.2%. The U.S.-based company "continued to experience significant difficulties even in its home market," Gartner said.

Sony Ericsson, the joint venture of Japan's Sony Corp. and Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson saw its market share fell to 5.4% from 7.5%, partly because of a weak product portfolio, Gartner said.