New reports forecast that Apple will sell 50 million phones in 2011, and more than 80 million in 2012, as worldwide expansion and popularity of the iPhone continues to grow.

Apple shipped 13.7 million iPhones in the 2008 calendar year, and the number continues to grow. Last quarter alone, the Cupertino, Calif., company sold 5.2 million iPhones riding the successful launch of the iPhone 3GS. But two new predictions call for the mobile platform to reach astounding new heights worldwide in the next few years.

In a note from Bernstein Research this week, hardware analyst Tony Sacconaghi said that Apple will sell more than 50 million iPhones per year by the September 2011 fiscal year. The report, as relayed by Barron’s, predicts the entire market for smartphones will grow 27 percent per year in both 2010 and 2011.

A major factor in the iPhone’s predicted growth, as seen by Sacconaghi, is the platform’s expansion to other carriers. In particular, the analyst expects Apple will sell 11 million phones alone in 2011 by offering the phone on Verizon Wireless in the U.S. With growth in Europe and expansion into China on the company’s agenda, Bernstein Research believes Apple could easily achieve the 50 million goal.

Similarly, Mike Abramsky, analyst with RBC Capital Markets, predicts that the iPhone will have 5.7 percent total addressable market share by 2012, well up from the 1.1 percent overall share held today. In the company’s latest report, RBC has raised its price target for AAPL to $250, maintaining an “Outperform” rating.

Abramsky believes that total iPhone shipments will hit 82.1 million in 2012, good for a 16.3 percent share of the smartphone-specific market.