Smart connected device (desktop and portable PCs, tablets and smartphones) shipments total 367.7 million units in Q4 2012 with 28.3% Y-o-Y growth IDC reports-- with smartphones and tablets driving growth as PCs decline. 

Overall 2012 shipments total 1.2 billion units. 

According to the analyst PC shipments are down (desktops by -4.1% Y-o-Y, portables -3.4%), tablets show record 78.4% Y-o-Y growth and smartphones grow by 46.1% while accounting for 60.1% of all 2012 smart connected device shipments. 

Global mobile phone sales total 1.75 billion units with a -1.7% Y-o-Y decline in 2012 according to Gartner, the first WW market decline since 2009. 

“Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences and intense market competition weakened the worldwide mobile phone market this year,” the analyst remarks. 

Feature phone demand was weak during both Q4 2012 and 2012, with Q4 sales dropping by 19.3% Y-o-Y to 246.4 million units. Gartner predicts feature phone sales will fall further in 2013, replaced by smartphones as market driver. 

The past year was a healthy one for smartphones-- Q4 2012 smartphones sales reach a record of 207.7m units with 38.3% Y-o-Y growth. Gartner predicts overall 2013 smartphone sales will make "close to" 1bn from overall mobile phone sales of 1.9bn units. 

Unsurprisingly smartphones remains in the firm clutches of the Apple-Samsung duopoly, which holds 52% share of the Q4 2012 market (up from 46.4% in Q3 2012).

Global Q4 2012 tablet shipments outpace forecasts with "record" totals according to IDC, as the market grows by 75.3% Y-o-Y and shipments reach 52.5 million units, up from 29.9m in Q4 2011.

Catalysts for such growth include lower average selling prices (ASPs), a wider product range and increased holiday spending.

Of course, tablets are a stark contrast to PCs-- where shipments saw declines during the holiday season, a first in over 5 years.

Apple continues to lead the market, with shipments reaching 22.9m units (wih 48.1% Y-o-Y growth) thanks to the iPad mini and 4th generation iPad launches. However increasingly strong competition continues to cause decline in Apple tablet share, from 46.4% in Q3 2012 to 43.6% in Q4.

Strong smartphone demand and heated vendor competition mark out the state of the WW mobile market in 2012, IDC says-- Q4 2012 mobile phone shipments grow by 1.9% Y-o-Y to total 482.5 million units. 

As for the full year, the global market is essentially flat (1.7 billion units with a slight -0.2% decline). 

Smartphones represent 45.5% of total Q4 2012 shipments, the biggest percentage recorded by IDC yet, even if with somewhat lower growth than earlier IDC estimates (36.4% compared to the 39.5% estimate). 

On an annual basis 2012 smartphone shipments total 545.2m units, up by 10.1% from 2011.