(Telecompaper) Mobile phone shipments rose 4 percent to 418.6 million units in the first quarter, compared to 402.4 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to IDC. Within the total, smartphone shipments grew 41.6 percent to 216.2 million units, versus 152.7 million units a year earlier. This marked the first time that smartphones accounted for over half (51.6%) of all mobile phones shipped in a quarter. IDC estimates that Samsung sold 115 million mobile phones for a 27.5 percent share in the first quarter, followed by Nokia with 61.9 million units (14.8%) and Apple with 37.4 million units (8.9%). In the smartphone category, Samsung sold 70.7 million units for a 32.7 percent market share, followed by Apple with 37.4 million units (17.3%) and LG with 10.3 million units (4.8%).