The economy’s in such a sorry state that people are postponing or foregoing altogether the purchase of a new cellular telephone, according to research from the market analysts at The NPD Group. The grim research says that domestic cell phone sales declined a whopping 22 percent in the first quarter vs. Q1 of 2007, a monumental decline.

Revenues for those phone sales are a little better, reflecting only a 7 percent decline and indicating that while fewer phones are being sold, at least they’re being sold at modestly higher prices.

In ranking the top five manufacturers in Q1, some surprises are evident. First: Apple’s not on the list. Second: RIM (maker of the BlackBerry) is, improving its station to #5, with a full 5 percent market share. That’s not bad considering the BlackBerry’s reputation as a corporate device with limited consumer-level appeal. (Perhaps the hot new BlackBerry products coming later this year will increase that share even further.) In fact, if there’s one bright spot in the report, it’s smart phones, which now consume a full 17 percent of cell phone sales vs. just 10 percent a year ago.

Perennial leader Motorola maintains its lead as the #1 phone seller in the U.S., despite its much-publicized corporate troubles. Samsung, LG, and Nokia round out the top five along with RIM.

Will Apple’s new iPhone change the picture considerably, or will the worsening economy continue to drag down the cellular sector? I’m hoping for the best but, as usual, preparing for the worst.

Get the full press release and study info here

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