Figures released by Gartner showed that purchases exceeded 340 million units, which represents an 8.3 per cent increase on the same time in 2008.
However, overall figures for 2009 showed a global decline of 0.9 per cent, reaching totals of 1.211 billion units.
The firm claims that "intense price competition" put pressure on average selling prices (ASPs) last year, with the Chinese and Indian markets causing major handset producers to "respond more aggressively".
However, Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner, said: "The mobile devices market finished on a very positive note, driven by growth in smartphones and low-end devices."
The enterprise believes that the improving economic environment will help to stabilise ASPs over the next year.
In comparison, Gartner revealed that the global PC market grew by four per cent in the final quarter of 2009, compared with the same period of the previous year.
