Android the winner as smartphone market to grow 55 per cent in 2011

Android will own almost half the market and Windows Phone 7 a fifth by 2015 as sales rise close to 500m

The global smartphone market will grow by 55 per cent in 2011 to 472 million units as people upgrade from feature phones to smartphones, according to figures from IDC.

The analyst firm's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker found that Android will dominate this growth, reaching a whopping 43 per cent market share by 2015, up from 39 per cent in 2011, as the majority of handset vendors choose the platform.

Android is used by most major manufacturers, including Samsung, Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson, and is the most popular with developers, according to a recent report

IDC also predicts that Microsoft's Windows Phone will gain 20 per cent of the market by 2015 thanks to its partnership with Nokia, although only if the handset maker's transition from Symbian to Windows Phone goes without incident.

Apple will remain third with a slight market share and growth decline owing to iPhone saturation, but will still be a major force. BlackBerry will also decline, but remain fourth as it struggles to regain its former glory.

Kevin Restivo, a senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, suggested that the transition from feature phones to smartphones will occur most rapidly in emerging markets.

"Mobile phone users around the world are turning in their 'talk-and-text' devices for smartphones to perform daily tasks like shopping and banking," he said.

"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."

Richard Windsor, an analyst at financial services firm Nomura, said earlier this week that Apple may need a mid-tier device to help it grow in emerging markets as it reaches saturation point in developed markets.