With positive results in the final quarter of 2009 and substantial projected growth for smart phones in 2010, the cell-phone industry may be seeing the end of the recession, according to iSuppli. The market research company says that cell phones ended 2009 with shipments of 1.15 billion units, which is down from 2008’s total 1.2 billion figure, but representative of an increasing growth pattern for all of last year. For example, 290 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2009, but that increased by 15.5% to about 335 million in the fourth quarter.

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“Given the recovery of the market in the final quarter of 2009, and with Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East/Africa regions doing exceptionally well during the period, the recession can be said to be officially over for the cell-phone industry,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless systems at iSuppli. “The continued growth this year of total handsets, up a projected 11.3% to 1.3 billion units, further bolsters such a view.”

Smart phones, which iSuppli defines as handsets with an advanced operating system (OS), will expand by 35.5 % in 2010, the company says. Several developments will drive this growth, including the introduction of entry-level smart phones, enthusiasm from vendors across the mobile phone and PC industries, the prevalence of 3G network deployments, and the promotion of data-centric services in mature markets.

The top five players in the market accounted for 77% of the 257.6 million handsets shipped in the fourth quarter of 2009. Nokia was the leader, with 126.9 million units and a 37.9% market share. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which introduced its own Bada smart-phone OS, took second with a 20.6% share. LG Electronics grabbed third with 10.1%, and Sony Ericsson took fourth with 4.4%. Chinese company ZTE, which saw growth of 77% over the previous quarter, nabbed fifth place with 4.0%.

For more about the market, see Teng’s latest report for iSuppli, “Mobile Handset Industry Foresees End of the Recession,” at www.isuppli.com/Pages/Mobile-Handset-Industry-Foresees-End-of-the-Recession.aspx?PR.

iSuppli