Gartner: Smartphone Sales Grew 15.7% in Q2

Worldwide smartphone sales grew 15.7% in Q2 from a year earlier, Gartner announced Monday morning. The research firm says smartphones remained 11% of the mobile device market, unchanged from a year earlier.

Gartner analyst Robert Cozza noted in a statement that the growth rate has slowed due to the difficult macro economy. “The current economic environment continues to negatively impact the market,” he says, “limiting consumer spending and replacement purchases in general.” He also said smartphone sales were slowed by “new compelling touch technology” on “enhanced phones” rather than smartphones.

Gartner predicted that wider availability of touch-based models will boost the growth rate in Q3.

Nokia (NOK) remained the category leader, with 47.5% market share, down from 50.8% a year earlier.

Research In Motion (RIMM) had 17.4% share, up from 8.9% a year earlier.

HTC and Sharp each held 4.1% share, followed by Fujitsu at 3.3%.

Apple’s (AAPL) share dropped to 2.8% from 5.3%; remember that the iPhone 3G wasn’t unveiled until July. Gartner noted that Apple’s share will grow significantly in the second half, “enabling the company to regain a top position in the global smartphone vendor rankings.”