Smartphone market grew 56.7 per cent over last year: IDC

As per research firm IDC, the worldwide converged devices (smartphone) market grew twice as much as the overall mobile phone market grew in the first quarter this year.
A total of over 54 million units were shipped by vendors in the first quarter of this year. This number is up by 56.7 per cent from the same quarter a year ago. In contrast, the overall mobile phone market grew 21.7 per cent while smartphones accounted for 18.8 per cent of all mobile phones shipped in the first quarter this year, up slightly from 14.4 per cent in first quarter of 2009.
Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst, IDC, mobile devices technology and trends team, said in a company statement, “Consumers will gravitate to smartphones not just because the devices themselves look cool and slick, but because the overall experience aligns with their individual tastes and demands. Already, we’ve seen what Palm’s web OS (operating system) and Google’s Android can do. This year, we expect updates for BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile to spark greater smartphone demand with their offerings.”
The handset giant Nokia maintained its position as the leading smartphone vendor worldwide during this quarter. It is followed by Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry devices, at the number two position. The third spot is occupied by Apple, while HTC and Motorola took the fourth and fifth place, respectively.