Smartphones: Ringing In The Cash

Photo: CNBC Asia Pacific With the world still reeling from the effects of the global economic crunch, you will be surprised to learn that more mobile phone users are switching to higher-end smartphones. Research conducted by Gartner revealed that while worldwide mobile phone sales fell an annualized 9.4% in the first-quarter, smartphone sales grew 12.7% on year. So which manufacturers are ringing up the cash registers? Click ahead to find out.By Geraldine TanCNBC Asia PacificPosted 19 June 2009

Photo: Fujitsu.com Market ShareQ1 2009: 3.8%Q1 2008: 4.1%Fujitsu, holding 5th place, has seen its market share fall to 3.8%, from 4.1% in the first quarter of 2009. The Japanese manufacturer has created the world’s first biometric waterproof cellphone.

Photo: AP Market ShareQ1 2009: 5.4%Q1 2008: 4.0%Taiwanese handset maker, HTC is in the 4th spot. Its smartphones, rival the iPhone in Asia, holding 5.4% of total market share in 2009, up from 4% the year before.

Photo: AP Market ShareQ1 2009: 10.8%Q1 2008: 5.3%Apple, has managed to bite some 11% of the smartphone pie with its smash-hit iPhone, almost double its share in 2008. It has an estimated 50,000 applications (and counting!), far outstripping those developed for the Windows Mobile platform.

Photo: CNBC Asia Pacific Market ShareQ1 2009: 19.9%Q1 2008: 13.3%The maker of the BlackBerry, Research in Motion, ranks No. 2 on the popularity stakes, with nearly 20% of the total market share.

Photo: CNBC Asia Pacific Market ShareQ1 2009: 41.2%Q1 2008: 45.1%Finnish mobile phone maker, Nokia, leads the pack, although research shows its market share fell to 41.2% in the first-quarter, from 45.1% a year ago.

Photo: CNBC Asia Pacific Others to watch...Samsung, which ranks second to Nokia in terms of worldwide handset sales, has yet to crack the smartphone market. But the South Korean cellphone maker is hoping its new Omnia model will make some headway in this tight race.

Photo: CNBC Asia Pacific Others to watch...LG Electronics has yet to gain a stronger foothold in the smartphone arena. But its pushing ahead with eco-friendly products and tie-ups with big fashion houses like Prada.

Photo: AP Others to watch...Palm’s new Pre is said to pose a real challenge to the iPhone. Still, it remains to be seen whether the Pre is the product that pulls Palm out of oblivion.

Photo: CNBC Asia Pacific Others to watch...Acer, the newest entrant to the mobile handset market, has recently introduced a range of smartphones. Will its foray into this arena be a success? Only time will tell.Replay Slideshow