Worldwide Smartphone Market Soars with Apple on Top

The global smartphone market grew 65.4 percent in the second quarter of 2011 and crowned Apple as the new leader, according to an IDC report. 

This marks the third consecutive quarter where total shipments exceeded 100 million units, with vendors shipping 106.5 million units in Q2 2011, which is an increase of 42.1 million units since a year ago. IDC still believes that for 2011 the worldwide smartphone market will grow 55 percent over 2010, with the second half of the year bringing new models.

Apple, which shipped 20.3 million units in Q2 2011, now leads the market with a share of 19.1 percent. The jump from 8.4 million units shipped a year ago can be attributed to the iPhone maker's distribution of the smartphone to more than 200 carriers in more than 200 countries. Despite this leap, Apple is not guaranteed to always be first, as there is no runaway leader in the market. Any of the top 5 vendors could top the list in future quarters. 

Second to Apple comes Samsung, which shipped 17.3 million units in the second quarter of this year, a 13.7 million unit increase from last year. Nokia, which was replaced by Apple as the world's largest smartphone seller, produced 16.7 million units in shipments, a 7.3 million drop from a year ago. 

Source: IDC