Smartphone climb could be copied by VoIP carrier apps

Demand for smartphones continued to grow in the first quarter of 2010, which can only be good news for VoIP providing mobile applications.

Smartphone volumes kept growing in the first quarter of the year, reaching 55.2 million, analyst firm Canalys has said.

Growth in the market rebounded by 67 per cent on the same period last year having weathered the economic downturn well, according to the hi-tech industry analyst.

This growth, the highest rate seen since the end of 2007, could potentially increase adoption of mobile VoIP solutions, which smartphones can access via the mobile internet.

Nokia led the smartphone market over the period, shipping a record volume of 21.4 million handsets, which was around twice the volume of its nearest competitor, RIM.

Chris Jones, vice president and principal analyst at Canalys, said: "Aggressive pricing has enabled Nokia to deliver smartphones that appeal to a broader consumer audience."

Use of mobile IP telephony solutions could soar in 2010 as the year is anticipated to be a big one for mobile application downloads.

Technology market research company ABI Research has forecast that six billion mobile applications will be downloaded in 2010, up from around 2.4 billion in 2009.