Apple Insider has a report on how mobile phone vendors are beginning to sound alarms about the economy, suggesting that some of the weaker ones could give up on the market entirely.

Motorola and Sony Ericsson have been on the ropes for a while, even back when the economy was doing well. The report said that given the difficult road ahead, the weaker companies might not even survive as phone makers. Michael Schroder, the head of research at FIM in Helsinki, said in a recent Reuters report, "If the weakness continues past summer, it is probable that some would get out of the business."

As the report stated, even top handset maker Nokia recently said its fourth quarter earnings will be curtailed because it has been "unable to cut costs quickly enough to account for the rapid deterioration of the handset market in the last few weeks."