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Smartphones, the name given to devices that combine a phone and pda in once device capable of doing everything from editing spreadsheets to browsing the internet, were once the fastest growing segment of the mobile industry. The Blackberry, iPhone, and Palm Centro are all popular devices in this category.

Both RIM, makers of the Blackberry, and Palm saw a 7% decrease while Nokia and Apple saw their stocks fall 5 and 4% respectively.  The report from Gartner Inc showed sales growth of 16% which is a dramatic drop from the 55% growth the market enjoyed at this time last year. Not surprisingly, the dismal economy is to blame.

“The current economic environment continues to negatively impact the market, limiting consumer spending and replacement purchases in general,” wrote Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner

Worldwide sales of smartphones reached over 32 million, with 25% of that being North American sales. With the recent release of the new 3G iPhone, the much anticipated release of the HTC Touch Diamond coming soon, and the long overdue release of Palm’s new Linux based OS due in early 2009, I don’t think smartphone stockholders have too much to worry about.

Read [MarketWatch]