Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments exceeded 157 million in the third quarter, with Samsung increasing its lead in terms of unit shipments. During the period, the Korean company shipped a record 56.3 million smartphones, which is almost double than what Apple did (26.9 million). Samsung’s flagship device, the Galaxy S3, played a key role, with estimated sales of 18 million in Q3. However, now that Apple has the iPhone 5, it is expected to better its sales in the fourth quarter.
As for the other players, the picture is somewhat different:
- ZTE was one of the winners, having moved almost 20 million smartphones over the first three quarters with third quarter sales exceeding both Nokia and RIM.
- Nokia’s Windows devices have yet to make a significant impact, with the Finnish company shipping just 6.3 million smart devices in the third quarter, a 63% fall compared to Q3 2011.
- RIM’s recent results hint at continuing problems for the Canadian firm with just 7.7 million quarterly smartphone shipments.
- HTC and Motorola continue to fall short.
- LG, on the other hand, posted a 24% quarter-over-quarter growth with a record 7 million smartphone shipments. However, it is still facing a challenge when competing against the likes of Apple and Samsung.
And as usual, you can get all additional information about Juniper’s report from their website.