Smartphone IC market expected to rise by 42% in 2010

This figure represents approximately 53% of the world's population and does not include SIM card subscriptions or multiple subscriptions by a single user. According to the market analyst, a 13% increase is expected for total mobile phone handset shipments this year after a 2% decline in 2009. All of the three top 10 mobile phone suppliers (HTC, Apple, and RIM) are entirely dedicated to shipping smartphone handsets and are expected to register the highest unit shipment growth in 2010. In comparison, the three top 10 companies expected to show a decline in 2010 (LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola) have recently increased their focus on the smartphone segment. The report forecasts that these companies will perform much better in the second half of 2010 because of these efforts. IC Insights notes that the differences between the basic, enhanced, and smartphone IC markets will become increasingly pronounced over the next five years. The report forecasts that the smartphone segment will hold 75% of the total mobile phone IC market in 2014.