BERLIN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Global smartphone sales had achieved a new record in the second quarter of the year, German market research institute GfK said on Monday.
A total of 346.9 million smartphones had been sold worldwide from April to June, representing a year-on-year increase of 4 percent, the report shows.
Asia led the demand growth with a year-on-year rise of 13 percent, followed by Central and Eastern Europe at 11 percent and Latin America at 10 percent.
Some 110.1 million smartphones had been sold in the Chinese market in the second quarter of the year, slightly more than the same period last year.
"The record demand for smartphones in the second quarter this year shows that, despite saturation in some markets, the desire to own a smartphone is a worldwide phenomenon," Arndt Polifke, global director of telecom research at GfK, commented.
"Consumers are willing to pay more for their smartphones as they seek a better user experience," said Yotaro Noguchi, product lead in GfK's trends and forecasting division, adding that GfK forecasts smartphone demand will continue to see year-on-year growth in 2018.
A single purchase
