Worldwide sales of smartphones grew 30 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to 53 million units on rebounding consumer spending and new models, according to researcher Strategy Analytics.

Nokia Oyj, Research in Motion Ltd., and Apple Inc. remained in the top three positions for mobile phones capable of running Internet browsers and software applications, the Boston-based research company wrote in a report. Rebounding consumer spending and new models with faster download capabilities spurred the growth over last year’s fourth quarter, the researcher said.

Nokia, which introduced lower-priced smartphones such as the 149-euro ($206) 5230 handset, increased its share to 39.2 percent of unit shipments in the quarter. RIM’s share grew to 20.2 percent and Apple added more than 5 percentage points to 16.4 percent, according to Strategy Analytics.

Source:Bloomberg