mobileu.co.uk

Apple tops touchscreen smartphone shipments for 2009

More than half of all smartphones shipped in the final three months of last year were touchscreen models, the latest stats show. Apple came top of the touchphone charts, just ahead of Nokia and followed by HTC and Samsung.

Analysts at Canalys reveal that the iPhone manufacturer shipped over 25 million smartphones in 2009, compared to Nokia's 22.36 million, HTC's 7.73 million and Samsung's 4.84 million.

Overall, touchscreen smartphone shipments were up 138 per cent year-on-year to nearly 30 million units from October to December. Total touchphone shipments for the year were put at over 75 million by Canalys – more than double 2008's figure.

Though a spokesperson said it was no surprise to see Apple at the top of the touchscreen smartphone table, he noted that Nokia was actually the leading seller by volume of touchphones in the last three months of 2009. Models like the 5800 and N97 were credited with the boost.

Previous research by Canalys revealed that the majority of respondents were keen to have a touchscreen interface on their next mobile phone.

The Apple mobile app store's large library of content and applications is predicted to continue driving sales of the iPhone in 2010.