Estimates of Apple iPhone shipment volumes in the first weekend they were available have ranged from 140 thousand units to 500 thousand iPhone units depending upon who was asked. Meanwhile, ABI Research forecasts that the smartphone market segment will grow from 218 million units in 2007 to 426 million units in 2012. Now that we have a little distance from the launch, it’s time to ask: “Will the Apple iPhone change the smartphone market?” According to Stuart Carlaw, wireless research director at ABI Research, the answer is a qualified - Yes. “The Apple iPhone will not revolutionize the smartphone market,” he says, “but it is a significant evolutionary step forward.