Going global
Canalys also found the worldwide smartphone market grew an impressive 95 percent over the same quarter a year ago to 80.9m shipped units. Nokia has hung onto its leadership position but the gap is closing. Nokia now commands a third of the world's mobile handset market, but Apple's performance this quarter has helped it grow to a 17 percent share worldwide, ahead of RIM which has a 15 percent share in Q3.
The research firm also noted immense growth in emerging countries known as the BRIIC group (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia and China) where shipments soared by 112 percent year-on-year. Nokia was the leading vendor in all 5 BRIIC markets, grabbing a 65 percent market share, with increased shipments of 298 percent year-on-year to total 1.1m units. The firm believes the mix of cheaper smartphones and its Ovi Suite is particularly popular India.
Amazingly despite an ongoing squabble with the Indian authorities about encrypted communications, RIM has grown its business in the country with volumes up 412% to capture 18 percent of the market in Q3.
Chris Jones, Canalys principal analyst, said: "For RIM, aggressively priced BlackBerry smart phones, such as the Curve 8520, have helped drive volumes across emerging markets, aided by its engagement in substantial marketing activities. It remains the number one smart phone vendor in Latin America, where it holds nearly 40% of the market."
"Where smart phone growth in mature Western markets has been driven by high-end products, in many emerging markets where disposable income is more constrained, growth is being driven by good-quality products that can attract mass-market volumes in the mid-tier of the market. To succeed in these markets, vendors need to offer smart phones that provide consumers with the same ability to engage with the locally relevant mobile applications and connected services that consumers want to use, but at a more locally accessible price," he added.
But once again, the firm found the Android OS was the biggest driver of growth across the global smartphone market, up a staggering 1,309 percent year-on-year from 1.4m in Q3 09 to over 20m units in Q£ 10 to dominate a quarter of total market share.
"With Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson all delivering large numbers of Android devices, and with focused efforts from many other vendors, such as LG, Huawei and Acer, yielding promising volumes, the platform continues to gather momentum in markets around the world," said Canalys senior analyst Pete Cunningham.
He added: "Android has been well received by the market and in some geographies it is becoming a sought-after consumer brand. It has rapidly become the platform to watch, and its growing volumes will help to entice developers, ensuring consumers have access to an increasingly rich and vibrant mobile content and application ecosystem. Vendors are now delivering Android devices across a broad range of price points, from high-end products such as the Samsung Galaxy S or HTC Desire, to aggressively priced devices such as the LG GT540 Optimus or the Huawei built Vodafone 845, ensuring that Android devices are available and affordable to consumers on almost any budget."
Despite recent blows including the withdrawal of Samsung and Sony Ericsson, the Symbian Foundation kept its position as the number one OS vendor worldwide, topping the charts in 37 of 56 countries tracked by Canalys. Experts believe the continued backing Japanese retailers and new Symbian 3 devices like the N8 will boost shipments as Nokia aims to push its wares further into the mid-tier smartphone market
Cunningham said: "There has been a lot of speculation about whether Nokia will adopt another platform, but that looks highly unlikely. Its current strategy is clear and makes sense. But Nokia still lacks a truly high-end product to compete against the iPhone and leading Android devices."
Meanwhile devices running Microsoft's OS make up just 3 percent of global smartphone shipments in Q3 although this will likely change next quarter after the launch of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.
