Worldwide Smartphone Shipments Increase – Pass Up PC Sales Numbers!
The worldwide smartphone market ended the quarter and the year on a high note, with vendors shipping record volumes of units. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 100.9 million smartphones during the fourth quarter of 2010 (4Q10), up 87.2% from the 53.9 million smartphones shipped during 4Q09. For the full year, vendors shipped a total of 302.6 million smartphones worldwide, up 74.4% from the 173.5 million smartphones shipped in 2009. PC shipments edged up just 3 percent to 92.1 million, which means that Smartphones are outselling PCs for the first time in history.
IDC expects further gains for the smartphone market in 2011, as smartphone vendors deepen and broaden their offerings. “The high-end of the market has been important to help grow the smartphone market in recent years,” noted Llamas. “IDC expects vendors to provide more mid-range and low-end smartphones at lower prices to reach the mass market. In the same manner, even high-end devices will become available at lower prices. This will result in greater competition and more selection for users.”
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