Apple Could be the Word’s Top Smartphone Seller by the End of the Year

[Maura]

Boy Genius Report says that according to new figures published by DigiTimes Research, which is affiliated with the DigiTimes newspaper, Apple could well become the world’s top global smartphone seller by the end of the year in terms of shipping volume. DigiTimes Research says that Apple’s iPhone unit shipments will rise to 86.4 million in 2011, up by 81.9% from last year’s figure of 47.5 million. In contrast, the previously unassailable Nokia’s unit sales are predicted to fall 25.8% in 2011 to 74.4 million units, down from 100.3 million units last year. Samsung is continuing to move in the opposite direct to Nokia (i.e., upwards!), with DigiTimes Research estimating that the company will sell 191.3% more smartphones in 2011 than in 2010, with 67 million units. The report predicts a somewhat mixed scenario for BlackBerry maker RIM, which it says will fall to number 4 in the world, despite experiencing 12.8% growth with sales of 55.7 million this year. HTC is predicted to come in at number 5 with 49.7 million units shipped.

Source: iPhone estimates trimmed by 10%, Apple still projected to be top vendor in 2011