Apple iPhone doubles market share

Smartphone sales grew 12.7% during the first quarter of 2009, with the Apple iPhone doubling its market share, according to a new report from tech research firm Gartner.

The new “Dataquest Insight: Market Share For Mobile Devices,” report said that 36.4 million smartphones were sold in the first quarter, with Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion the usual big winners.

RIM stole 19.9% of the market, an increase of 6.6% from the same period a year ago, with Apple doubling its market share from 5.3% to 10.8%.

“Much of the smartphone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touch-screen products, both in the mid-tier and high-end devices,” Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.

“Touch for the sake of touch was enough of a driver in the mid-tier space, but tighter integration with applications and services around music, mobile email, and internet browsing made the difference at the high end of the market.”