Smartphone sales finish 2009 with a bang

Nokia remains the biggest seller of smartphones, but RIM and Apple are closing in

Global smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2009 reached 53 million to push sales for the year to 173.8 million, a rise of 15 per cent on 2008, according to a new report from research firm Strategy Analytics.

The figures represent a 30 per cent rise on the fourth quarter of 2008, and are good news for the handset industry, explained Tom Kang, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.

"Smartphones are leading the handset industry out of recession, with stronger consumer demand and a stream of attractive new 3G models tempting buyers into retail stores and driving sales," he said.

Neil Mawston, director of Strategy Analytics and author of the report, suggested that the growth will generate intense competition this year between established manufacturers such as Samsung and LG and emerging players like Dell and Huawei.

"The smartphone wars will be good news for consumers, but the fierce competition will inevitably place downward pressure on vendors' pricing and margins," he said.

The report also looked at the breakdown of sales among key players. Nokia remains the smartphone market leader with sales of 67.8 million in 2009, followed by Research in Motion with 34.5 million and Apple with 25.1 million.

A further breakdown of the figures reveal that Nokia shipped 20.8 million smartphones worldwide in Q4 2009, up 38 per cent from 15.1 million units a year earlier, making it Nokia's strongest smartphone quarter since the first half of 2008.

However, Nokia's overall market share fell one point to 39 per cent based on 2008, as rival manufacturers continued to gain ground. RIM's share was up from 15.5 to 19.8 per cent while Apple rose from 9.1 to 14.4 per cent.