The International Data Corporation (IDC) has released numbers related to smartphone shipments, indicating massive continued growth and consumers’ appetite for full-featured mobile devices.
According to the research, vendors shipped 119.4 million smartphones for the first six months of 2010, compared to 76.8 million smartphones for the previous year. The IDC expects total shipments of 269.6 million smartphones this year, compared to 173.5 million units shipped last year, representing a 55.4% overall growth. Interestingly, this is 10% higher than the IDC previously predicted.
Consumers’ appetite for smartphones has surged recently on the back of new devices like the EVO, iPhone 4 and the slew of Android devices that have hit the market, and the IDC attributes its strong predictions to this trend. Consumers want access to the growing portfolio of mobile services and functionality that can’t be found on so-called “feature-phones.”
In terms of smartphone OS market share, Symbian still rules with 40.1% of the pie. Even though BlackBerry is gaining fast and Window’s new mobile OS is about to enter the market, the IDC still expects Android to be the winner in the longterm.
“Android is the wild card, deserving close observation for the rest of this year and the years to come,” said the IDC in a statement. “Phone vendors have been drawn to Android because it allows them to present their own approach to what a smartphone experience can be. In addition, users have quickly warmed to Android, comparing it to iOS due to its ease of use and a growing mobile application storefront. Now that HTC and Motorola have leapt out in front with their own respective devices, other vendors such as Dell, Kyocera, LG Electronics, and Samsung will soon help grow the Android market.”
