Global mobile phone sales increased by 35% to 417 million units in the third quarter of 2010, compared to the same quarter of 2009, while smartphone sales increased by 96% to 80.5 million units, according to a new report from research firm Gartner.
Gartner said that smartphones accounted for 19.3% of overall mobile phone sales in the third quarter of 2010.
According to Gartner, three of the top five mobile phone vendors experienced a decline in sales in Q3 2010, with Nokia, Samsung, and LG registering market share decline by 8.5, 2.4, and 3.7 percentage points, respectively.
Nokia gained the top spot with 117.5 million unit shipments and a market share of 36.%, a 8.5 percentage points drop from Q3 2009.
Samsung’s market share decreased by 2.4 percentage points to 17.2% from previous year third quarter, and LG accounted for 6.6% of the total market share in Q3 2010, compared to 10.3% in Q3 2009.
In the smartphone OS market, Symbian continued its lead with a market share of 36.6%, down 8 percentage points from Q3 2009.
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Android and iOS accounted for a market share of 25.5% and 16.7%, respectively.
Gartner principal research analyst Carolina Milanesi said smartphone OS providers have entered a period of accelerated platform evolution, stimulated by more regular product releases, new platform entrants and new device types.
"Any platform that fails to innovate quickly either through a vibrant multi-player ecosystem or clear vision of a single controlling entity will lose developers, manufacturers, potential partners and ultimately users," Milanesi said.
