Smartphone sales on the up

Despite the troubled economy, sales of smartphones rose 4 percent over the past year. Nokia retained its number one slot, but RIM was the biggest winner.

Figures from research firm IDC show that 43.3 million “converged mobile devices” were sold in worldwide between July and September, up from 41.1 million last year. That’s tremendous news for the industry, though it’s arguable that figures for the next two quarters (holiday sales, followed by purchases from people who got cash or vouchers for Christmas) may prove more important.