Worldwide smartphone shipment posts growth in 2011

Global smartphone adoption continues to leave analyst forecasts in the dust. Total smartphone shipment in 2011 was at 491.4 million units, raising the worldwide market by 61.3% over the 304.7 million units moved in 2010. By and large, smartphone popularity in 2011 completely eclipsed the 54.7% annual growth estimate at the beginning of that year.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors saw record-breaking smartphone shipments in the last quarter of 2011 with 157.8 million units sent to market, up 54.7% year on year. IDC had forecast only 40% growth for the period. “By the end of the quarter, one out of every three mobile phones shipped worldwide was a smartphone,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team.

The release of iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy series were also influential in driving consumer sales. But as IDC's Kevin Restivo put it, there is also a proliferation of lower-priced Android devices, many under $250, that have contributed to smartphone market expansion.

Samsung and Apple lead in both market share and shipment volume. But while the smartphone market in general experienced better-than-expected figures, Nokia shipment slipped 22.8% year on year. From 100.1 million in 2010, the Finnish telecom giant's shipment volume was reduced to 77.3 million in 2011.

Research In Motion and Taiwanese brand HTC fared better; RIM shipment was up 4.7% and HTC doubled 2010 shipment at 100.5% despite controlling only 8.9% of the market.

A full report on IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, go to www.idc.com.