Global smartphone sales will jump 23 percent this year to more than 1.2 billion units, fueled by growth of low-cost handsets in emerging markets, a research firm said Wednesday. An IDC survey said smartphone sales will maintain an annual growth rate of 12.3 percent through 2018. Much of the growth is coming from low-cost devices using the Android operating system, with Apple's market share eroding, Microsoft Windows making modest gains and BlackBerry fading further, IDC said. "What makes smartphone growth so amazing is where the growth will be taking place," said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst.



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