Q4 2010 numbers shows that smartphones sales reign over PCs for the first time

At this point, there is no arguing the impact that smartphones play in the global market as being the premier technology device to own. Looking back 10 years ago, the PC market was in a similar position as they dominated the technology sector – even up to this day surprisingly.

However, the proliferation of smartphones, both inexpensive and premium, shifted the eyes of the consumer electronics segment onto itself as the latest figures show its surging sales. According to the counter at the IDC, smartphone makes as a whole managed to ship out approximately 100.9 million devices in Q4 2010 – which is a glaring 87.2 percent increase from the same period last year. Conversely, PC makers shipped out roughly 92.1 million units in Q4 2010 with only an increase of 5.5 percent year over year.

Granted that the PC market still enjoyed seeing 346.2 million units being shipped for the entire year, the smartphone market wasn’t too far behind at 302.6 million units shipped. More surprising is the fact that the smartphone market saw an impressive 74.4 percent increase last year, while a paltry 13.6 percent growth was found in the PC market.

Now that we’re seeing a focus on the entry-level market, manufacturers are quickly finding devices that cater to this segment, while still retaining focus on the upper-end of the market. In fact, the barrage of smartphones launched over the busy holiday season indicates that this is only going to be the beginning for the smartphones combating PC sales.

source: The Register via Textually