Apple outpaced every other smartphone manufacturer in the first quarter of this year. According to IDC, Apple sold 8.8 million iPhones during Q1, handing the company a 16.1% market share, up from 10.9% in the same quarter last year. Nokia remains in the top spot with stable market share, while RIM surrendered share.

Combined smartphone sales jumped by 56.7% from 34.9 million to 54.7 million, IDC said. Four out of the five largest smartphone vendors in the U.S. were able to grow considerable faster than the average market share growth, led by Apple which more than doubled its units, Motorola, which nearly doubled its units as well as HTC and Nokia, which also added substantial unit numbers.

Nokia remains the market leader with a share of 39.3% and 23.9 million units, followed by RIM with 19.4% and 10.6 million units. However, RIM was the only top 5 vendor to surrender market share when it added only 45.2% to its Q1 2009 unit numbers. In comparison, Apple added 131.6% and increased its market share by 48% from 10.9% to 16.1%.

Apple’s result is significant, but it is also clear that Apple has a long way to go to catch up with Nokia. Nokia was able to sell 7.8 million more smartphones in Q1 2010, while Apple’s total unit sales were 8.8 million, up 5 million from 3.8 million in Q1 2009.

HTC, manufacturer of the Google Nexus One, came in third with a share of 4.8%, while Motorola had a particularly good quarter with an increase of 91.7% in unit sales. The company shipped 2.3 million Droid and Cliq smartphones, translating into a share of 2.3%. Motorola may increase its numbers further, as it said that it expects to ship about 12 – 14 million smartphones this year.

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