The Cellphone Squeeze

Here's another species endangered by our cratering economy: the basic, mid-priced cellphone.

Pinched wallets are putting the so-called feature phone--which includes a camera, Bluetooth, text messaging and Web surfing capabilities--at risk, says Avi Greengart, research director of mobile devices at Current Analysis. Carriers, squeezed by the economy themselves, are passing over their more modest handsets to back flashy smart phones.

And in these grim times, consumers are likely to go for all or nothing, opting for either a free phone or a pricey smart phone, Greengart predicts. "The worse the economy, the more buying behavior will consolidate," he says.

He notes that the trend is carving a new winner's circle among handset makers. Those that offer high-end, high profile phones---think Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people )--are profiting while tamer brands, such as Kyocera, sink.