With only three months left in the year, IDC feels comfortable raising its forecast for worldwide smartphone growth for 2010. It now believes that exceedingly strong demand for smartphones will lead to year-over-year growth of 55.4 percent, or 10 percent higher than its previous forecast. IDC now expects for 269.6 million so-called converged devices to ship this year, compared 173.5 million units shipped in 2009.
Why are estimates rising? Because of the number of smartphone launches, and for the fact that people are buying them. “Additional product introductions and an expected flurry of smartphone buying activity in the second half of the year will push the market well above previous expectations,” said Kevin Restivo, IDC’s senior research analyst.
Other IDC predictions:
— Smartphone growth will increase overall mobile phone growth to 14.1 percent this year, which is 1.5 percent higher than its previous forecast.
— Last year, the overall mobile-phone market declined 2.8 percent.
— The outlook for 2011 is for the smartphone market to increase by 24.5 percent.
— Symbian will remain No. 1 with 32.9 percent share in 2014.
— Android is expected to grow the fastest, rising from 16.3 percent to 24.6 percent in 2014.
— Windows Mobile will gain share, and and BlackBerry

Comments have been disabled for this post