iSuppli sees 11% growth in smartphone sales in 2009

Reuters reports up to 11 percent more smartphones could be sold this year despite a falling overall mobile phone market according to research firm iSuppli.

ISuppli sees 2009 unit sales of smartphones -- phones with computer-like functions such as Apple's iPhone or Research in Motion's BlackBerry -- rising between 6 and 11.1 percent.

"With 3G networks having become prevalent all over the world, smartphones are no longer just for corporate users -- they are for consumers, too," iSuppli's senior wireless communications analyst Tina Teng said in a statement.