IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker says that 269.6 million handsets were shipped in the April through June period, down 10.8% from last year’s 302.2 million units where shipped.

In any case, the 269.6 million units represent 17.2% increase from this year’s first quarter. IDC sees worldwide sales off 13% from last year. However, analysts suggest that improvements are expected from mobile phone makers selling high-end smartphones.

"Among the big handset vendors, Nokia, Samsung, Research In Motion, and Apple, all beat expectations for smartphones within the second quarter," said Ryan Reith, senior research analyst with IDC.

IDC points out that Nokia remained the worldwide leader in overall market share in Q2, despite a 15% drop from 40.4% of the market in 2008 to a 38.3% in 2009.