Report: Smartphones Overtook PCs in Shipped Units in 2011

For the first time ever, the total number of smartphone shipments in 2011 exceeded desktop, notebook, netbook and tablet shipments combined.

Canalys reports that, for the first time ever, the total annual global shipments of smartphones exceeded client desktops, notebooks, netbooks and tablets combined in 2011.

In 4Q11 alone, vendors shipped 158.5 million smartphones, up 57-percent from the 101.2 million units shipped exactly one year ago. The total number of client PCs was 120.2 million in that same quarter, 57.9 million of which were notebooks, 29.1 million that were desktops, and 26.5 million that were tablets. Netbooks came in last with a quarterly shipment number of a mere 6.7 million units.

As for the entire year of 2011, notebooks saw the most units sold, an incredible 209.6 million shipments. In second place were desktops with 112.4 million followed by the tablet sector with a hearty 63.2 million units. But don't let those numbers fool you: the tablet sector saw the most growth when compared to 2010, jumping up to 274.2-percent. Desktops only grew 2.3-percent when compared to 2010's final numbers, and netbooks continue to die out with a -25.3-percent loss.

"In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads (tablets)," said Chris Jones, Canalys VP and Principal Analyst. "But pads have had negligible impact on smart phone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011."

"Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone," Jones added. "In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smart phones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices."

The report claims that for 2012, smartphone market growth will slow as vendors exercise greater cost control and discipline -- they'll put more focus on profitability. It also claims that vendors who previously focused on dominating the low-end market with aggressive pricing -- Huawei, ZTE and LG to name a few -- are now eying the higher tiers. Even expensive flagship models aimed at raising selling prices and improving margins will appear in more numbers in 2012.

Canalys estimates that 237.8 million Android devices shipped worldwide during 2011, 81.9 million units in 4Q11 alone. Apple's iOS fell into second place, seeing 93.1 million units shipped in 2011 followed by Symbian (80.1M), BlackBerry (51.4M), bada (13.2M) and Windows Phone (6.8M). Microsoft's OS actually saw a nasty decrease in units shipped compared to 2010 with a -43.3-percent loss. Hopefully Nokia will be able to turn Microsoft's decline around.

To read the full report, head here.