Android phone vendor, Samsung, reported a growth of 78%, while Chinese vendors like Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and Yulong reported triple digit growth.
Compared to Q3 2012, Android’s share however dropped 74% while Apple’s share grew from 15% to 22% boosted by sales of iPhone 5.
During the quarter, BlackBerry and Windows Phone had a share of 4% and 2% respectively compared to the previous quarter.
"When we look at the whole of 2012, Nokia remained the number three smart phone vendor, shipping 35 million units, but Apple in second place shipped 101 million more handsets," said Canalys principal analyst, Pete Cunningham.
"First-placed Samsung shipped 74 million more than Apple – the gaps are colossal. But there is still a big opportunity as smart phone penetration increases around the world.
"Vendors left in the wake of the top vendors must at the very least improve their portfolios, time-to-market and marketing, as well as communicate their differentiator.
"Microsoft, BlackBerry and other new OS entrants, such as Mozilla, must make the OS switch as simple as possible and drive and localize their respective app and content ecosystems," Cunningham added.
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