With much cheerleading on how how fast consumers are gobbling up smartphones, it’s nice to hear some hard numbers. Smartphone sales will top 420 million devices in 2011, according to IMS Research, a global electronics market research and consultancy. With bankers’ eyes on mobile banking, that’s a meaningful number, and it’s just the beginning.
By 2016, IMS Research expects annual smartphone sales to top one billion devices. Practically speaking, that means one of every two mobile handsets will be smartphones.
The research firm gave shout outs to Apple and Samsung as leaders in the space.