Following on from last week's report that said the worldwide mobile phone market had grown 10% year-on-year in Q4 to reach 324 million units, Strategy Analytics has released some smartphone-specific statistics.
It says the final quarter of 2009 saw global smartphone shipments up 30% year-on-year to reach 53 million units; a record figure for the industry and the strongest period of growth since Q3 2008. Annual smartphone shipments reached an all-time high of 173.8 million units in 2009, up 15% from 151.1 million in 2008.
Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, said "The smartphone market will become ultra competitive in 2010. Samsung and LG have ambitious plans to grow volumes and expand their app stores, while emerging players like Dell and Huawei are strengthening their device portfolios and courting major operators. The smartphone wars will be good news for consumers, but the fierce competition will inevitably place downward pressure on vendors’ pricing and margins."