Smartphone shipments to top 1 billion by 2016, claims IDC

Research firm IDC has predicted that smartphone shipments will grow from the 494 million in 2011 to 1.16 billion in 2016, more than doubling. Smartphones are the fastest growing segment of what IDC calls "smart connected devices," which also includes PCs and media tablets or devices with 6-inch or larger displays.

Smartphone shipments saw significant growth from 2010 to 2011, expanding 62 percent from 305 million to 494 million. For 2012, IDC predicts that smartphone shipments will reach 660 million worldwide. Media tablet shipments are expected to grow as well, just at a smaller clip. The firm says that 69 million tablets were shipped 2011, and predicts that 198 million will be sold in 2016.

IDC claims that the driving factor for this impressive growth will be demand in Asia/Pacific, including China, where buyers will use smartphones as their primary internet connection.