Although they were the most-returned Christmas gadget, Canalys figures show that smartphone sales rose by 60-percent in 2007 to over 115m units.  Nokia dominated the market, with an overall 52.9-percent share putting it comfortably ahead of rival RIM with their 11.4-percent; the major surprise is that Apple have knocked Motorola from their third-place, capturing 6.5-percent of the market with the iPhone.

In fact, iPhone market share has been impressive in all the markets it’s sold in: in North America Apple had a 28-percent share, putting it behind RIM’s 41-percent but ahead of all Windows Mobile-powered smartphones that between them had 21-percent.  In Europe, despite lower than expected sales of the iPhone, Apple has moved into fifth place, edging out Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Palm.

“When you consider that it launched part way through the year, with limited operator and country coverage, and essentially just one product, Apple has shown very clearly that it can make a difference and has sent a wake-up call to the market leaders” Pete Cunningham, senior analyst, Canalys

The largest region by sales is Asia, however, where the iPhone is yet to officially launch (and where Nokia has a more than 50-percent share of the smartphone market); Canalys warned that the success of the touchscreen-based Apple cellphone had prompted similar R&D by rival manufacturers, and suggested that the Cupertino-based company should diversify their range in order to maintain growth.