Here’s what Kantar has to say:

Apple’s iPhone 4S launch has helped the company regain global momentum with the US driving growth, according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. In the latest 12 weeks of sales*, Apple’s share was at 44.9% while Android took 44.8% of the US market. Apple also increased its share of the British smartphone market from 22.0% a year ago to 34.0%.

Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director, explains: “Apple has continued its strong sales run in the US, UK and Australia over the Christmas period.  Overall, Apple sales are now growing at a faster rate than Android across the nine countries we cover.”

Windows 7 is yet to break past a 2% share in any country despite the media attention gained by the new Nokia Lumia range. The Nokia Lumia 800 finished quarter four just outside of the top 10 smartphones sold in Great Britain.

Dominic continues: “BlackBerry remains the brand of choice in the smartphone gifting market, 57% of BlackBerrys were purchased as gifts in quarter four.  This rose to 76% during December and a whopping 55% of recipients were under 16, indicating BlackBerry’s hold on the UK youth market.”

Looking at Latin America, it is clear that Android is starting to make a big impact.  Although the smartphone market is still in its infancy, Android took a 28% share in Brazil and 20% in Mexico.

Dominic Sunnebo comments: “Brazil and Mexico have a combined population of over 300 million, meaning that the mobile opportunity is huge.  By staking an early claim on the smartphone market in these countries, Android is laying important groundwork for future sales from the increasingly affluent middle classes.  Over the next few years, Asian manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE are likely to focus smartphone sales on these regions. Their ability to offer prices under $100 will be crucial to their success.”

In Great Britain, smartphones made up 70.7% of sales over the 12 weeks, meaning that 48.9% of the British population now own a smartphone.

When considering a brands performance, it is important to bear in mind that all countries covered in the survey are experiencing strong smartphone growth, meaning a share decline does not necessarily correspond to a drop in actual sales.

* 12 w/e 25 Dec 2011

And here are the actual statistic breakdowns. Click through to a larger image:

You won’t be surprised by the Symbian statistics, will you? IDC has their marketshare for 2011 at a still respectable 20.6%. By 2015, it reckons the Symbian share of smartphones will account for 0.1%.

Ouch.

Still, that’s not much of a surprise.

For ‘Symbian’, read ‘Windows Phone 7′ though. At least that’s one way to look at it. IDC forecasts that Windows Phone 7 (and Windows Mobile) will account for 20.3% of smartphones in 2015, presumably the bulk being shipped by Nokia?

BlackBerry’s forecast is hanging on at 13.4% whilst Android’s forecast is way, way up the charts at a whopping 43.8%. The iOS forecast is sitting at a rather stagnant 16.9%. Highly believable, provided Apple don’t take the red pill and start shipping hundreds of millions of iPhone Nano devices in the next few years.

Right then, jump into the full release below. I pasted the stats in as a graphic right at the bottom.

Let me know if you agree with their forecasts.

- – - – -

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. June 9, 2011 – The worldwide smartphone market is forecast to grow 55% year over year in 2011 as a growing number of users turn in their feature phones for more advanced devices. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors will ship a total of 472 million smartphones in 2011 compared to roughly 305 million units shipped in 2010. That figure will nearly double to 982 million by the end of 2015.

The fast-growing smartphone market, which will grow more than four times the rate of the overall mobile phone market this year, is being fuelled by falling average selling prices, increased phone functionality, and lower-cost data plans among other factors, which make the devices more accessible to a wider range of users.

“The smartphone floodgates are open wide,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “Mobile phone users around the world are turning in their ‘talk-and-text’ devices for smartphones as these devices allow users to perform daily tasks like shopping and banking from anywhere. The growth trend is particularly pronounced in emerging markets where adoption is still in its early days. As a result, the growth in regions such as Asia/Pacific and Latin America, will be dramatic over the coming years.”

Smartphone Operating Systems

“Underpinning smartphone growth is the rapidly shifting operating system landscape,” added Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. “End-users are becoming more sophisticated about what kinds of experiences are offered by the different operating systems. Taking this as their cue, operating system developers will strive for more intuitive and seamless experiences, but will also look to differentiate themselves along key features and characteristics.”

IDC expects Android, which passed Symbian as the leading operating system worldwide in Q4 2010, to grow to more than 40% of the market in the second half of 2011. A significant and growing list of vendors who have made Android the cornerstone of their respective smartphone strategies is propelling the growth of Android.

Symbian will steadily lose share throughout the forecast period as its biggest supporter Nokia transitions its smartphone strategy to Windows Phone. This will present a huge opportunity for competing operating systems to gain footing. Still, Nokia’s commitment to support Symbian devices until 2016 will keep the installed base of Symbian-powered smartphone users on par with its competitors.

Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile will benefit from Nokia’s support, scope, and breadth within markets where Nokia has historically had a strong presence. Until Nokia begins introducing Windows Phone-powered smartphones in large volumes in 2012, Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile will only capture a small share of the market as the release of Mango-powered smartphones are not expected to reach the market until late 2011. Nevertheless, assuming that Nokia’s transition to Windows Phone goes smoothly, the OS is expected to defend a number 2 rank and more than 20% share in 2015.

iOS was the third ranked OS going into 2011 and will remain a force in the mobile phone market throughout the forecast. After an initial explosive growth period, iOS is expected to grow at a more modest pace throughout the latter half of the forecast as the smartphone market matures

and diversifies. Although a small market share decline is expected, IDC expects significant overall shipment volume growth through the end of 2015.

BlackBerry OS is expected to maintain its position as a Top 4 smartphone operating system over the forecast period. Like iOS, the BlackBerry OS will experience market share decline even as shipment volumes grow throughout our forecast.

This is Momchil here wrapping up the discussion on the mighty Nokia N8.

As mentioned before, I am a Nokia supporter and I always use a Nokia as my primary handset. I have been closely following the development of Nokia touchscreen smartphones since the 7710 made it to the market. This leads me to my first point – reliability. Every Nokia I’ve had, smartphone or not, has always been utterly reliable. The 7710 I’ve owned since 2004 still works perfectly despite having been dropped in the pool and suffering numerous substantial impacts. The Nokia N8, being its very distant successor, is also extremely reliable.

The 7710 was relatively unsuccessful in the market for a reason which is no fault of Nokia engineers as the phone was (and still is) amazing. The only problem with the 7710 was that the device was way ahead of its time. Now coming back to the future (Nokia N8), the lesson has been learned. AMOLED screen, HDMI out, USB OTG, 12 megapixel camera, aluminium shell, these are the fundamental components of today’s ultimate smartphone. The customer is already used to touchscreens, he has an HDMI compatible TV or monitor at home, he would make good use of the amazing camera and he would know the difference between 12 megapixels with HD video capabilities and the 5 megapixel phone he probably owned before. The market is ready for the N8, and Nokia N8 is already setting standards in the market.

It all ties in – Camera, HDMI, USB OTG, 16GB

Start by taking some really impressive high resolution crisp photos with your N8. Make a video or two, or as many as you wish, the 16GB internal memory will handle it. Impress someone at work or at home by connecting the Nokia to a big HDMI flatscreen and playing your clips. Amaze your friends even more by copying the pictures to their USB flash drive, which they happen to carry on their keychain. Enjoy!

Things we take for granted

Amazing sound quality and playback time. The music player is very user-friendly and the 3.5mm stereo jack enables you to plug your favourite earphones. Music playback has been tested at MIR and works perfectly with our huge pair of Sennheiser earphones. The sound was also sharp on our JBL sound system and finally we tested it with a Phillips amplified setup in the 5.1 dolby digital sound mode – again fantastic results. A huge advantage of the N8 over competitors’ products is the ease of music (and video) accessibility. You can just plug the Nokia to your PC in mass storage mode, upload some MP3s and videos, and they will be immediately ready to play. The same applies to USB OTG, just connect your flash drive or external hard drive to the device and it will play anything, yes, instantly, in High Definition, on your HD TV. No need for special PC applications or conversions.

Improvements of the OS

Symbian OS hasn’t been so spectacular recently compared to what others have to offer. However, Symbian ^3 is a real improvement to the previous versions of the system. It is much more user-friendly and there has been an enormous effort put into making it more touchscreen-oriented. Take the QWERTY keyboard, for example. It occupies the entire screen, providing more area for each of the buttons, therefore making it easier for the user. There is a much more decent task manager and the menus are more intuitive compared to the N97, for example. Messages appear on the screen as IMs, no need to click “Open” every time you receive one. E-mail connectivity works really well. The automatic screen orientation feature on my N82 and my N97 was really annoying, I had it switched off. However, on the Nokia N8 it feels really different. It actually works when you need it to. There is a little pause just before the change of screen orientation, to make sure this isn’t just a random movement of inclination. In general, Symbian is much better now!

The on-screen clock

I have elaborated on this in my first N8 post: Nokia N8 – First Impressions. I absolutely adore this seemingly normal feature. There is an on-screen clock visible at all times when the phone is locked. It doesn’t disappear in a minute. You don’t have to press a button in order to check the time. It’s simply brilliant!

Aluminium and Glass

The scratch and scuff resistant anodised aluminium body speaks of quality, and feels like it. I must add that the phone feels cool most of the times, not like other handsets with powerful processors that might fry your palm. Glass screen, not plastic, feels much better and is more responsive than the N97, for example. Rigidity is a strong quality of the N8, take the micro USB port reinforcement for instance. The very access to the port is integrated into the shell of the phone, which helps support the micro USB plug when connected, unlike many other handsets on which the port is prone to snapping off the mainboard.

The ULTIMATE TEST

The N8 as a portable home entertainment centre?

Here at MIR we decided to put the N8 to the ultimate test. We wanted to use USB OTG, audio and HDMI playback at the same time. How so? We connected a USB wireless mouse/keyboard to the Nokia. We used the HDMI port and placed the handset close to our HD monitor. We linked our JBL audio system in. But first, let’s transfer something from an external hard drive…

Active Ingredients: Nokia N8, USB Hard Disk, USB Keyboard, Bluetooth Mouse, Full HD Monitor

The Nokia N8 as a Portable Home Media Centre

How this worked:

First, connect a USB Hard Drive to the Nokia (or any USB Flash Drive). Browse for videos, copy them to the phone or open them directly.

Connect a Keyboard, it works automatically. Pair a bluetooth mouse, it takes seconds!

Now let’s put this all together. Bring in the Full HD monitor!

Try the browser, connecting to a WiFi is easy enough. Let’s see if the keyboard works… Flawless! The mouse functions are fully integrated and really useful, hold the right button and you have a Task Manager!

FINAL STAGE OF THE TEST

THE PORTABLE MEDIA CENTRE

It works!!! The Nokia N8 really did it! We have a USB keyboard, Bluetooth Mouse, 720p HD Video file copied from a USB Hard Drive, Full HD Monitor and a JBL Audio system connected to the Nokia N8 Simultaneously!!!

I can’t express my feelings right now… This device is really, really powerful. In addition it didn’t heat up at all while playing in HD and the battery was charging at the same time too!

WELL DONE NOKIA, I am truly impressed!!!

Here’s Part 5 of the Smartphone Obsession Series that I’m producing thanks to the support of mobile messaging giant, OpenMarket. In the final episode, I sat down with InMobi’s top man in Europe, Rob Jonas, to find out what he thinks about the smartphone obsession issue.

Over to Rob…

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Here’s Part 5 of the Smartphone Obsession Series that I’m producing thanks to the support of mobile messaging giant, OpenMarket. This time I’ve put OpenMarket on the spot — I sat down with their European Sales Director, Adrian Sarosi, to find out what he thought of the smartphone obsession issue.

Over to Adrian…

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Here’s Part 4 of the Smartphone Obsession Series that I’m producing thanks to the support of mobile messaging giant, OpenMarket.

I managed to get Carl Martin of Mobsessed to talk on camera about his perspective on the mobile marketing industry’s obsession with smartphones.

Over to Carl…

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Here’s Part 1 of the Smartphone Obsession Series that I’m producing thanks to the support of mobile messaging giant, OpenMarket.

In this first episode, I talked with Alex Meisl, Chairman at mobile marketing specialists, Sponge Group. Alex is also joint-Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association so I thought it would be fascinating to get his viewpoints first.

Is there too much obsession with smartphones in the mobile marketing arena?

Why do companies jump straight for iPhone, even when they’re marketing products and services that really don’t appeal to iPhone users?

How much influence does the argument ‘but the Chairman’s got an iPhone’ have on the decision process?

What do you do when you want to reach everyone in the mobile channel, rather than just the smartphone users?

Have a watch and find out!

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Fancy a smartphone that works with a ‘virtual handshake between satellite and a next-generation terrestrial network’?

This piqued my interest…

TerreStar’s service will enable users to be reliably and securely connected to the network through a virtual handshake between the satellite and a next-generation terrestrial network. Integrating these technologies will create an unparalleled network-based communications solution that customers can rely on to stay connected everyday, everywhere.

TerreStar’s open, accessible network design will leverage existing chipset technologies to provide satellite communication capabilities over small, handheld devices. Devices may include cell phones, PDAs, laptops and embedded modules effectively outdating oversized satellite phones.

TerreStar will provide wireless voice, data and video services through a network of partners and service providers to users who need “anywhere” coverage throughout the United States and Canada.

They at booth 8964 at CTIA. I think I’ll pop along and have a look. I’ve always liked the idea of proper anywhere usage. I wonder just what the device will do.

This week, it’s Doug Freedman of Broadpoint AmTech — which sounds very much like an analyst firm — reckoning that Microsoft will announce their own smartphone at Mobile World Congress shortly.

If they brought one out running Android, I’d certainly stop what I was doing and take a look.

Not likely though?

But I tell you what I’m hoping to see: A revolution. A total Microsoft Mobile revolution.

You never know…

Sources at various titles have picked up news that DELL is on the brink of announcing a Smartphone, most likely at Mobile World Congress.

The Wall Street Journal has it the PC maker has been designing a prototype of an iPhone and BlackBerry ilk, for over a year now. They even have news that it could be of a touch screen variety too, with Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS being both likely contenders for the platform of choice.

They quoted an analyst over at Kaufman Bros., who in turn is quoting from an internal source at DELL on all the information.

Apparently, according to the title, 258 million Smartphone devices were sold last year with that figure expected to rise to 725 million this year. It wasn’t said in so many words, but we’re expecting these stats came from the analyst firm IDC.

Another analyst at that very same firm added further speculation by throwing in his two pennies worth. He mentioned it’s been a few years since DELL hired in a guy from Motorola, who was chiefly responsible for the RAZR and it was about time his recruitment showed some fruits.

Read more on the piece here, it makes for an interesting read and with Reuters running an article too endorsing the WSJ copy, it just further confirms the rumours.

With the likes of Palm showing up in Barcelona with their pre it’ll soon be a crowded place for Smartphones. We’re wondering what DELL will have to do to make the phone standout, if anything at all. We’ll all just have to wait and see, but it’s looking like interesting times are ahead.

News of a new Palm mobile has been doing the rounds, with CrunchGear apparently having the exclusive lowdown on what’s what.

The site has it from a trusted source the latest Palm Smartphone will be of a slider phone design, with a full QWERTY keyboard in a portrait formatted touchscreen. To our knowledge the case is the very first type in a new venture for them and only the second display of that ilk, in their current line up.

This is supposedly what Palm is bringing along to CES in Las Vegas this week, with the announcement to be unveiled to the muggles this Thursday.

According to the site’s insider source, this will also feature a new OS with the accompanying standard office type functionality we’ve all come to expect from Palm and their Smartphones.

Also being touted around is that the phone’s maker is now known. It’s been rumoured by other sources too that the handset will be made by the same builders of the Palm Pro, namely one HTC.

There have been troubled times of late for the former 3Com spinoff company, perhaps a break away from the formats of yesteryear could be a good move for them. As we’d hate for a company of this history and worth to fall along the roadside, just like Psion have.

Let’s hope we hear more on this model and that it’s not some pie in the sky concept, as it does sound rather intriguing.

For one, it isn’t modelled after one of their full frontal QWERTY keyboard phones, which do come off sometimes feeling distinctly like a budget version of a BlackBerry of long ago.

And for another, it’s a new format for them in a slider phone. This could add more weight behind them within a new avenue on a route that they haven’t previously ventured down before. It could open up more or just another market for them along the way.

With RIM said to be producing their first ever slider model Smartphone later this year, perhaps Palm could get their first and grab the attention of those who don’t want to wait around or even go for a BlackBerry.

Lest not forget, that if the mock-up image is anything to go by and the information on hand is accurate, it’s both a full touchscreen display and has a physical keyboard. All of which means it sits on the fence between three types of phones, touch screen, one with a full QWERTY keyboard and also a slider handset.

This could very well hit more demographics that anyone cares to wish for; let’s just hope it has WIFI and all will be great with us.

Note: The image above is just a fictitious possibility, from Palmdoc_Flood on Flickr – seen here.

Josh over at Engadget made an editorial posting about all he wants for Christmas is a good Smartphone, which we’re sure most of us can relate to.

It goes on to highlight just how no one has really got it entirely right so far, from out of the box.

Engadgets Editor-in-Chief goes on to state he has to switch between three phones to get out the best Smartphone experience all told, as not one of them has the complete all round offering he requires.

Of late, he personally juggles between a BlackBerry Bold, iPhone 3G and G1 – with idea that if he could merge them all together, he would do so.

He likes the iPhone processing power, the Bold’s keyboard plus its overall speed of running apps, and the G1 Gmail integration, with its open source roots as a bonus.

A phone with the resolution of the HTC Touch HD would be on his wish list, with a capacitive touch screen to boot.

All of them need better synchronisation, with everything from office suites upwards and downwards. And not just what they can afford the licenses for, or are just BFFs with those companies.

It’s well worth a read and can be seen in its fully glory here

All the points he made we agree with, but there’s some extra we’d like to throw in seeing as it’s Christmas.

The handset has to support EDGE, 3G, HSDPA and HSUPA – covering all the bases, so in all areas the best possible data reception can be obtained and at all times.

It needs to have an OS that can handle true multitasking with the greatest of ease, the best of which we’ve used is still Brew. Having QUALCOMM the phone’s chipset maker also making the OS can’t be all that bad.

Decent push email is a must, with great integration for text and multimedia messages too. All from the same inbox by default, with a worthy preview option.

A good solid office compatible application onboard, no trials, no time limited versions – a full product that’s fully compatible with the very latest suites around. If it’s not too much bother, direct emailing from the app or at the very best, direct integration with the messaging suite.

It doesn’t need to be all work and no play either, we’d like to see a 3.5mm audio jack socket and playback for DivX/XviD without any extras needing to be installed.

Perhaps an all inclusive unlimited data plan for the phone, something in the region of the Vodafone BlackBerry Storm or O2 iPhone models.

Feel free to post your thoughts below, on what you’d like from the Ultimate Smartphone.

Merry Christmas.

Over 39.9 million smartphones were shipped around the world in the July – September period, representing a 28 per cent increase, according to Canalys, the market data company.

Apple sold 6.9 million of the smartphones, giving it a 17 per cent share of the global smartphone market, putting it in second place behind Nokia (18.9 percent).

The growth has been explained by the impact of Apple’s iPhone 3G, launched in July as well as the company’s market expansion to more countries outside the US.

Blackberry, made by Research in Motion (RIM), recorded sales of 6.1 million, giving it 15.3 per cent of the market.

In terms of operating systems, Windows Mobile has 13.5 per cent of the market, and Symbian has 46.6 per cent of the smartphone market.

Is it time to begin recognising the iPhone platform as a decent player in the smartphone market now?

Dan Lane and Ben Smith were on the scene with me behind the camera to capture the joy.

Our joy tripled when we noticed Del Boy — replete with his rather old brick of a mobile. I kid ye not…. !

That’s right.. it’s an E— something. We thought it could possibly be the E63 — and Mauricio did let slip that name.

We’ll publish the vid shortly but meantime… here’s the Exx next to the E71…

… And a closer look …

And you can view the video of it being loved and feted by the Mobile Industry Review Show team here.

Samsung’s making this software available for all the main mobile operating systems – Windows Mobile, Symbian, Linux – and it also works on other consumer gear that uses the same memory, like digital cameras and TVs.

If you thought Samsung was being generous and just giving us faster memory from the good of their hearts, think again – the company’s press release says that it should make it easier for electronics manufacturers to design in the new software to their products and so help Samsung memory make its way into more handsets and other gadgets. Cunning.

The iPhone’s market share now stands at just over 19 percent of all smartphones, down from around 26 percent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, RIM’s BlackBerry saw its market share jump in comparison, going from 35.1 percent of all smartphones in the fourth quarter of last year to 44.5 percent in the first quarter of this year and Palm saw its share grow from 7.9 percent to 13.4 percent of smart device sales.

Why has Apple hit a bump? Suggestions have included a post-Christmas shopping slump, new models from both Palm and RIM hitting the market and shoppers waiting for the 3G iPhone to surface. Chances are it’s a bit more prosaic than that: Apple’s range at the moment is just a single device and most people who wanted one went out to buy it in the first few months after release. Wait for the June refresh, and chances are those numbers will pick up again.

The Telegraph reckons it will run “off BT’s Home Hubs in residential settings, and switch across to the Vodafone mobile network when out and about”Interesting news out of BT: according to a report in The Telegraph BT is set to debut an own-brand smartphone from HTC today.

The Telegraph reckons it will run “off BT’s Home Hubs in residential settings, and switch across to the Vodafone mobile network when out and about”

Having divested itself of its mobile arm some years ago and stumbled somewhat with its last mobile offering, the dual-mode VoIP/cellular service BT Fusion, it could well be a bit of an uphill struggle for the incumbent to sell mobile services to consumers again. If the Telegraph is right, then this just looks Fusion by another name: without a raft of must-have devices, better pricing or at least some new services, I’m not really sure how BT thinks Fusion will fly this time around.

The expected growth in smartphone numbers is “a product of a number of complex factors including carriers’ drives to grow data revenues from advanced services and the general trend to pushing ‘smart” operating systems down into middle tier devices,” the company says.

What’s really exciting about this is not that there are more smartphones out there but that more and more mid-range devices can now be classed as smartphones – good news for operators, as users are likely to consume more data, and good news for users, as they can get access to more and better content.

Meanwhile, Barrons reports Nomura analyst Richard Windsor believes Dell is coming out with a 10 digit Qwerty keypad device next year.

Dell has already got out of the PDA business once – is it really going to re-enter the market again? It would certainly be very well positioned to do so and it’s brand would probably open a lot of doors with business users. Dell has still remained very reserved on the subject though: it’s not looking like a dead cert, but the evidence looks to be building.