Worldwide smartphone sales are ebbing but the slow-down in growth isn't crimping top-sellers like the iPhone and BlackBerry, according to a new Gartner report released on Thursday.

In terms of smartphone leadership, Nokia continues to have a tight hold on first place, with 15.4 million in sales and 42.4 percent of the market as of third quarter in 2008. But the Finnish vendor has lost ground, suffering about a 3.1 percent drop in growth compared to the third quarter of 2007 when it held 48.7 percent market share and sold 15.9 million devices.

Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza told InternetNews.com that she expects wireless carriers to decrease data plan fees to combat the slowdown in sales. Handset vendors, she predicted, will likely push out more mid-tier products in 2009.

New products, such as the Nokia N97 that arrived this Tuesday, are driving sales but it's not enough, according to Cozza.

"Nokia is feeling the pressure from increased competition," said the analyst, noting the vendor's portfolio lacks a commercial touch-screen device.

Apple iPhone 3G sales hit 4.7 million units in the third quarter of 2008 and it now holds 12.9 percent market share. The smartphone player, in third place behind Nokia and Research in Motion, has enjoyed a 327.5 percent annual sales spike since the third quarter of 2007. That growth pushed Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) from 10th place in the second quarter of 2008 to its current third place spot.

RIM has seen 81.7 percent growth year-to-year. The number two vendor shipped 5.8 million units in the third quarter of 2008 and owned 15.9 percent market share. In third quarter of 2007 the BlackBerry maker held 9.7 percent share and sold 3.1 million units.

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