Smartphone growth will slow in 2011, says IDC

While global sales of smartphones will continue to increase, they will do so at a much slower pace this year, according to International Data Corp. (IDC). They predict that in 2011, smartphones will grow by 49%, which is far less than the 74% growth in 2010.

IDC explains that the recession is responsible for the shift in growth rates: "Last year's high market growth was due in part to pent-up demandfrom a challenging 2009, when many buyers held off on mobile phone purchases." So now that those reluctant consumers felt comfortable enough to buy smartphones in 2010, they will be less likely to do so in 2011.

In line with most analysts' predictions, IDC sees Android grabbing a vast lead by 2015 with 45.4% (from 39.5%). But somewhat surprisingly, they predict that Apple's iOS will slip to 15.3% (from 15.7%). Of course, they also see BlackBerry losing some ground, and Symbian obviously vanishing after it's no longer part of Nokia's lineup.

Their most interesting prediction, which mirrored that of one Ovum analyst, regarded Windows Phone 7. They see the combined Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile market share rising from 5.5% to 20.9% by 2015, making it the second largest smartphone OS. And they attribute this growth to Nokia's vast production capacity.

source: IDC via Bloomberg