Worldwide smartphone volumes grew by 64 percent in the second quarter of 2010, according to figures from research firm Canalys. The most striking figure was an 886 percent year-on-year growth in Android device shipments, driven by new handsets from vendors including HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Canalys noted that the platform is strong globally, with flagship devices such as Motorola’s Droid and HTC’s Droid Incredible available in the US, and performance in Asia Pacific being “similarly optimistic”. However, Canalys did not provide shipment figures for the platform, which has been able to achieve its impressive growth figures from a low point in 2009.

While Nokia retained its sector leadership, achieving a 38 percent market share and recording a 41 percent shipment growth year-on-year (23.8 million units), this was outpaced by growth of the market as a whole.  Nokia’s performance was driven by “affordable smartphone offerings”, including the mid-tier 5230, as its rivals strengthened their positions in high-end devices. Second-placed Research In Motion also saw its shipments grow by 41 percent, aided by its mid-tier BlackBerry 8520, giving it an 18 percent market share. Despite well-publicised issues with its latest generation iPhone 4, initial shipments of Apple’s new device were described as “predictably strong”, leading to a 61 percent shipment growth and worldwide market share of 13 percent for the vendor. “Expect to see smartphones accounting for a growing proportion of the wider mobile phone market as they become increasingly affordable to more customers,” predicted Canalys’ senior analyst, Pete Cunningham. “By 2013, smartphones will grow to represent over 27 percent of shipments worldwide, with the proportion in some developed markets in Western Europe surpassing 60 percent and 48 percent in North America.”