Smartphone penetration will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 24.9 percent during the period stretching from 2011 to 2017, reaching 1.7 billion units worldwide by the end of the forecast, according to research firm Ovum.

Smartphones running Google's Android operating system will represent 48 percent of the global market by 2017, up from 44 percent in 2011 and 17 percent in 2010. Ovum anticipates Apple's iOS will account for 27 percent of the market in five years, increasing from 23 percent in 2011. Microsoft's Windows Phone will follow a distant third at 13 percent, trailed by Research In Motion's BlackBerry at 10 percent.

"Although it will remain behind Android in terms of shipment volumes, Apple will continue to be a key player and innovator in the smartphone market over the forecast period," said Ovum Principal Analyst Adam Leach. "We expect Microsoft, despite its slow start, to have established Windows Phone as a relevant smartphone platform by 2017."

Global annual mobile phone shipments will grow at a CAGR of 6.3 percent through 2017, fueled by demand from emerging markets. Although shipments to established markets like North America and Western Europe will be made up almost entirely of smartphones, feature phones will still play a small role in developing regions throughout the forecast period, Ovum said.