Smartphone Growth To Be 49% In 2011: Android, Windows Leading -IDC (GOOG, MSFT, AAPL, RIMM, NOK)

According to International Data Corp (IDC), global smartphone sales are expected to grow 49% this year, which is four times the pace of the overall mobile phone market. This pour into smartphones is attributed to consumers trading their traditional phone for a phone with superior features. The number of shipments forecasted according to IDC will rise to 450 million in 2011, up from 303.4 million in 2010. IDC predicts market share for Google's GOOG Android operating system to be 39.5% and as much as 45.4% by 2015. This would make Google's Android the leader in smartphone operating systems in 2011 after soaring into the number 2 position last year. IDC also states that by 2015, Apple's AAPL iOS would be pushed to third with Microsoft's MSFT Windows OS moving to second, and Research in Motion's RIMM BlackBerry platform in fourth. Nokia's NOK plan to shift to Windows Phone as its main platform, as part of a partnership with Microsoft, will have significant implications for the smartphone market, according to IDC. Devices from the new Nokia/Microsoft alliance are expected to launch in 2012. According to IDC, market share for Windows Phone could be 20.9% by 2015, compared to just 5.5% projected for this year. Growth in smartphones this year will not be as fast as it was in 2010. This is because the economic uncertainty in 2009 help off new phone buyers until the downturn settled. "The expected market growth for 2011, while still notable, will taper off somewhat from what we saw in 2010," added Kevin Restivo, an analyst from IDC.