Annual smartphone sales breaches the billion wall

For the first time in history, more than 1 billion smartphones will be sold during one year.

The global smartphone sales has increased by over 40% since last year and for the first time it appears that the total number of smartphones sold will pass the 1 billion barrier this year. 

A recent analysis by IDC predicts that the total number of smartphones sold will be 1.8 billion units this year and increase even further to 2.3 billion units next year (2014). 

There may of course be many reasons for this aggressive and steep increase in the number of smartphone units sold and one main reason is likely due to the trend toward cheaper smartphones and aggressive marketing campaigns from the operators. 

At the current rate of expansion, the total smartphone units sold annually is predicted to become 1.7 billion in the year 2017. 

It is apparent though that smartphones has gone from something trendy, and luxury to something that has become a tool for the average consumer as well. In terms of the operating system, it is still predicted that Google Android will be the clear dominant player followed by Apple iOS and with Microsoft Windows Phone being a minor player. Blackberry as expected is predicted to lose even more market share, in line with the recent disappointing sales numbers of the Blackberry Q10.