Smartphone sales up. VoIP phones next?

The popularity of smartphones could potentially soar in 2010, following a "remarkable" recovery at the end of last year.

The final quarter of 2009 saw 25 per cent more smartphones shipped than in the third quarter, which grew 3.6 per cent on the previous quarter, ABI Research has said.

Michael Morgan, analyst at the technology market research company, said: "The robust strength of this market's recovery is very encouraging indeed."

The promise shown by the smartphone market could be reproduced in the VoIP phones space, given the increased potential access to VoIP solutions internet-enabled handsets offer.

Sales of smartphones have been boosted by a combination of falling prices and the launch of entry-level handsets, which are creating interest among new buyers.

The fourth quarter of 2009 was the best smartphone quarter on record for Apple, while Nokia sold five to six million more smartphones than usual. RIM's BlackBerry also performed well.

Frank Dickson, an analyst at market research firm In-Stat, recently said that the opportunity for mobileIP telephony solutions to establish themselves is "closely linked" to increasing smartphone sales.