For the first time ever, smart phones with touch screens accounted for more than half of all smart phone shipments globally in Q4 2009, taking 55% of the market. Touch-screen smart phone shipments were up 138% year on year in Q4, reaching almost 30 million units, in a quarter where overall smart phone market growth stood at 41%. The total touch-screen smart phone shipments for the year at over 75 million, more than double the 2008 figure. Total smart phone shipments in 2009 hit a new peak of 166 million units, according to a new study by Canalys.

The shift of marketing budgets from traditional channels to digital channels will continue to rise in 2010 with 46% of companies plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2010 and 66% will increase their investments in digital marketing channels. 28% of marketers are shifting at least some of their overall marketing budgets from traditional to digital channels, according Econsultancy survey.

Following a financially optimistic January 2010, US consumers are tightening their purse strings this month. The Next 30-Day Retail Index, which represents the number of electronics, appliances, and yard and garden equipment consumers said they’re planning to buy this month, plummeted to 6.9 from 8.9 the prior month. That’s the lowest level it has been since August of last year, according to the Consumer Reports Index.

Despite a slight dip in its market share percentage, Motorola still led all mobile OEMs in U.S. subscriber market share during Q4 2009. A total of 234 million people age 13 and older in the U.S. used mobile devices by the end of Q4 2009 in December 2009. Motorola’s market share of this group dropped from 24.9% in Q3 2009 to 23.5% in Q4 2009. LG retained its number spot, incrementally increasing market share from 21.7% to 21.9%. The third- through fifth-most popular mobile OEMs, Samsung, Nokia, and RIM, also maintained their Q3 2009 market share positions in Q4 2009. Nokia’s share percentage slipped from 9.6% to 9.2%, while Samsung and RIM registered slight gains, according to the comScore MobiLens report.