The global smartphone market experienced its strongest ever growth since 2007 with sales of about 55.2 million units in January-March 2010.
The volume of smartphone sales continued their climb in Q1, 2010, registering a growth of 67 per cent, a study by Canalys said.
The sector weathered the period of economic uncertainty well and growth has fully rebounded, it added.
Despite strong competition, Nokia increased its share of the global smartphone market in the first quarter of 2010, according to Canalys. The Finnish vendor shipped 21.4 million units, around twice the volume of nearest competitor RIM.
Nokia showed strong growth across all regions, with Latin America the highest growth market, but with the lowest volume. Under fierce competition from rivals, Nokia has broadened its touch-screen portfolio over the last six months.
"For the first time, touch-screens represented over 50 per cent of Nokias smart phone shipments this quarter, which were historically dominated by the keypad-based candy bar form factors," Canalys VP and Principal Analyst Chris Jones said.
Aggressive pricing has enabled Nokia to deliver smart phones that appeal to a broader consumer audience. RIM was another vendor to forge ahead, particularly on the back of its impressive performance in Latin America, where it saw 297 per cent growth in Q1, 2010.
It also enjoyed a strong performance in the Asia-Pacific, with 215 per cent growth, driven primarily by the markets of South-East Asia. RIM is continuing to demonstrate its growing appeal among consumers worldwide and its ability to build new operator partnerships and effective channel strategies in developing markets, it added.
While the top two vendors performed well in terms of volume, their market share is still under pressure from Apple, which has made share gains over the past year, climbing from 11 per cent a year ago to 16 per cent in Q1, 2010.
Other notable performers with triple-digit growth among the top 10 vendors were Sony Ericsson and Palm, which saw 292 per cent and 129 per cent year-on-year growth respectively.
