Global mobile phone sales fell 3.1 percent year-on-year to almost 428 million in the third quarter, according to Gartner research. Smartphones accounted for 36.9 percent of the total and grew 46.9 percent from a year earlier to 169.2 million units. While the total market showed a decline, Gartner said it saw signs of improving demand in both both mature and emerging markets, as sales increased sequentially. Demand was supported by smartphone sales in China and a recovery in replacement sales in mature markets thanks to new device introductions.
Samsung led both the total market with a 22.9 percent share of unit sales and took 32.5 percent of the smartphone market. Nokia's share fell to 19.2 percent of the total market and it dropped to seventh place in smartphones. Apple was in third place in the total market with 5.5 percent, followed by ZTE with 3.9 percent and LG with 3.3 percent.
In terms of operating systems, Android commanded a 72.4 percent share in Q3, followed by Apple's iOS with 13.9 percent, Research In Motion's BlackBerry with 5.3 percent, Samsung's Bada at 3.0 percent, Symbian with 2.6 percent and Microsoft's Windows at 2.4 percent.
