According to a report by In-Stat, iPhone shipments are growing quickly, and smartphones based on the Symbian (News - Alert) operating system remain dominant and will continue to grow over the next several years. However, Symbian will wane, resulting in a drop in net Symbian-based smartphone shipments in 2014.

The competition will change from the OS to the functionality and “user experiences” that the phone can provide. The advanced feature sets of smartphones continue to grow and capabilities such as touch screens, higher camera resolution and WiFi connectivity options increase.

“In-Stat believes new OSs such as Android (News - Alert) and Maemo will cut away at Symbian market share,” said Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst, in a press statement. “Although there are relatively few open-source, OS-based smartphones in the market today, the open source OS momentum is difficult to ignore. After years of hype, it is easy to see that 2010 will be the year of Android.”

The In-Stat (News - Alert) research  found out that shipments of smartphones with touch screens will more than double from 2008 to 2009. Also, RIM OS has been gaining market share in the non-enterprise segment, reflecting the importance of hardware design in the segment. The total smartphone market in 2014 will be 412 million units, according to the report.

It is expected that shipments of smartphones with accelerometers will grow to more than 350 million units by 2014. The report also says that over 52 percent of a smartphone's cost comprises touch screens, baseband and apps processors, and software and licensing make-up.

The research includes an examination of smartphone operating systems, touch screens, applications, image sensors, and wireless connectivity options. It forecasts the unit sales by OS and for smartphones with touch screens, Bluetooth, WiFi (News - Alert), and accelerometers through 2014.

The report details smartphone components and bill of materials and features analysis of the smartphone OS market and developments in component and feature technology.