Apple’s impact on the smartphone market shows no signs of letting up – but the iPhone maker is facing stiff new competition in the touchscreen stakes.

The popularity of touchscreens on smartphones has increased massively since Apple introduced its iPhone. And in the last quarter of last year, for the first time ever, touchscreen devices accounted for more than half of all smartphone shipments globally, according to research from analyst house Canalys. Another survey conducted by the analyst at the end of last year showed that more than half (60 per cent) of 4,000 consumers polled wanted a touchscreen interface on their next mobile device.

In the latest piece of research, touchscreen smartphones took 55 per cent of the market in the fourth quarter of 2009, with shipments of touchy-feely devices up 138 per cent year-on-year, according to Canalys.

By contrast, overall smartphone growth was significantly lower, standing at 41 per cent. The analyst said the total number of touchscreen smartphones shipped in 2009 was more than 75 million, with total smartphone shipments hitting 166 million.