The sales of smartphones radically increased in the final quarter of 2011, a new study by IT research and advisory firm Gartner reveals.
An estimated 149 million of the products were shipped worldwide between October and December.
It was noted this is a 47.3 per cent increase on the equivalent period in 2010 and brought the annual total up to 472 million units sold - a year-on-year increase of 58 per cent.
Furthermore, this accounts for 31 per cent of all mobile sales, suggesting smartphones are a significant driver of growth in the sector.
Indeed, statistics from In Stat identified the products as being the most successful in the entire consumer electronics industry.
This success is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, as a 25.7 per cent compound annual growth has been forecast until 2015.
Crossover is expected to increase the diversity of offerings, for instance the success of digital televisions, set top boxes and media tablets such as the Apple iPad 2 is predicted to continue unabated.
Apple's iPhones experienced record sales at the end of 2011, becoming the third-largest smartphone vendor and gaining a 23.8 per cent market share.
"Western Europe and North America led most of the smartphone growth for Apple during the fourth quarter of 2011," commented principal research analyst at Gartner Roberta Cozza, adding: "In Western Europe the spike in iPhone sales in the fourth quarter saved the overall smartphone market after two consecutive quarters of slow sales."
Nokia's sales declined by 8.7 per cent, totalling 111.7 million in the period and Mr Cozza explained Samsung closed the gap on its Finland-based rival.
"The troubled economic environment in Europe and Nokia's weakened brand status posed challenges that were hard to overcome in just one quarter," he remarked, expressing optimism the Lumia range has the potential to turn its fortunes around.
Posted by Janine Smith