Mobile shipments up 21% in first quarter

Shipments of mobile handsets grew by 21.7% during the first quarter of the year, according to new figures from industry research firm IDC.

The organisation’s new Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker report has found that 294.9 million mobile handsets were shipped in the first three months of the year, with Research In Motion breaking into the top five, knocking out Motorola.

Additionally, a separate report from Strategy Analytics found smartphone shipments grew by 50% during the same period with shipments of the iPhone doubling. The report found RIM maintained its 20% market share, with Nokia recording its fastest growth rate in three years.

“That the mobile phone market has rebounded by double digits year over year in a post-holiday quarter is definitely good news for the industry,” said IDC senior research analyst Ramon Llamas in a statement.

“Whereas last year we saw much uncertainty around demand and overall reluctance to introduce new devices, vendors have been very vocal about their intentions this year, with some even launching new devices in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, the continued emphasis on converged mobile devices points to greater revenue generation and profitability.”