iSuppli sees up to 11% more smartphone sales in 2009

LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Up to 11 percent more smartphones could be sold this year despite a falling overall mobile phone market if network operators cut data fees and offer aggressive subsidies, research firm iSuppli said on Wednesday.

ISuppli sees 2009 unit sales of smartphones -- phones with computer-like functions such as Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone or Research in Motion's (RIM.TO) BlackBerry -- rising between 6 and 11.1 percent.

"With 3G networks having become prevalent all over the world, smartphones are no longer just for corporate users -- they are for consumers, too," iSuppli's senior wireless communications analyst Tina Teng said in a statement.

Computer companies including Acer (2353.TW) have recently announced they want to follow Apple's footsteps into the smartphone market. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Will Waterman)