Mobile phone shipments grew by 10% year-over-year, to reach 324 million units in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to Strategy Analytics.
This was a return to growth in the mobile phone market after a recession which had lasted more than a year.
“This signals an end to the industry’s recession which first began during Q4 2008 and lasted for four quarters,” said Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics.
There are signs that mobile operators and handset vendors are steadily regaining confidence.
“We expect the global handset market to continue its recovery, with shipments rowing a forecast 8% annually during the first quarter of 2010,” said Mawston.
According to the analyst the top five suppliers remain: Nokia with market share in Q4 of 39%, Samsung with 21%, LG with 10%, Sony Ericsson with 5% and Motorola with 4.9%.
Samsung shipped a record 69.0 million handsets worldwide during the fourth quarter of 2009, up an above-average 31% from 52.8 million units a year earlier.
Samsung maintained market share while Motorola and Sony Ericsson slipped as a result of the handset recession.
Apple shipped 8.7 million iPhones worldwide in Q4 2009, but accounts for just 2.7% of the handset market.