Shipments of smartphones grew 15% year over year in 2009. This performance stands in stark contrast to an estimated contraction of 7.9% in total handset shipments for the year, according to a new report from IMS Research.

“Last year validated the idea that the target market for smartphones is expanding rapidly”, said IMS Research analyst, Chris Schreck. “Increasingly, consumers who purchase a new handset are choosing a smartphone. The notion that smartphones are exclusively luxury purchases or enterprise tools is rapidly giving way to a perception of smartphones as a device with mass market appeal.”

Smartphone shipment growth is expected to accelerate in the future, with IMS Research projecting a CAGR of 24.5% between 2010 and 2015. Much of this growth is forecast to come at the expense of the feature phone segment, as the average selling price for entry level smartphones approaches the same levels as high end feature phones.