Global smartphone sales grow 29 percent in Q1

Worldwide smartphone sales totaled 32.2 million units in the first quarter of 2008, a 29.3 percent increase over the year-ago quarter, according to a new report issued by market research firm Gartner. North American smartphone sales totaled 7.3 million units in Q1, a 106.2 percent year-over-year increase, while smartphone sales in Europe, Middle East, and Africa totaled 11.7 million units, a 38.7 percent leap. Nokia remains ahead of the vendor pack, commanding over 45 percent of the global smartphone market and notching a year-over-year sales increase of 25 percent--Research In Motion held on to second place, improving its worldwide market share to 13.4 percent and continuing to dominate the U.S. market at 42 percent. Apple moved into the number three slot, with 5.3 percent of the global smartphone market and jumping to number two in the U.S. with 20 percent. Gartner anticipates touchscreens, usability and application integration will continue to drive smartphone growth, especially as vendors and operators expand their portfolios to include open-platform devices.

For more on the Gartner smartphone report:
- read this release

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