Samsung Overtakes Apple as World's Biggest Smartphone Seller

Samsung Electronics Co., Apple Inc. pulled the last quarter of the world's largest smartphone vendor in the midst of a growing technology and the legal battle between the two companies to be.

Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones in the fourth quarter with 23.8 percent of the market, Milton Keynes, UK-based Strategy Analytics said in an e-mail statement today. Apple's 17.1 million shipments, comprising 14.6 percent of the market, pushed Cupertino, Calif.-based company to second place. Nokia Oyj maintained its third position, he said.

Apple, which released its iPhone 4S this month held the first place only a quarter after the termination of Espoo, Finland-based Nokia earlier this year. Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, has developed into Google Inc. 's Android software to sell its Galaxy smartphones and tablet computers to rise.

"Samsung has come up with products that appeal to all different form factors and specifications out there," said TZ Wong, a Beijing-based analyst at researcher IDC. "It's a strategy they have done very well."

Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment after regular business hours. Nam Ki Yung, a Seoul-based Samsung spokesman declined to comment on estimates of the research company.

Smartphone sales
"Samsung's growth is due to a combination of elegant hardware design, popular Android services, unforgettable sub-brands and extensive global distribution," Strategy Analytics said. "Samsung has proven that it is possible, at least in the short term, to differentiate and grow with the Android ecosystem."

The global smartphone market increased 44 percent from the previous year to 117 million units, according to Strategy Analytics. Nokia declined to 14.4 percent from 32.7 percent a year earlier.

In the broader market cheaper mobile devices including Nokia's first preserved even after the loss of 5 percentage points of share, the researcher said in a separate statement. The 27.3 percent is held 22.6 percent in front of Samsung, LG Electronics Inc. in the third.

Chinese ZTE Corp. phone maker is cheaper handsets helped to 4.7 percent and Apple for the fourth. The worldwide market shipments rose 14 percent to 390 million units, says the researcher.

Samsung, also the world's largest producer of television, today announced record sales of its telephone division, which helped mask a decline in earnings of computer memory chips and panels.

Legal battle
Samsung rose 2.3 percent to ₩ 945,000 at the close of trading in Seoul today. The shares have fallen 0.4 percent this year, compared with a 25 percent leap for Apple.

Apple and Samsung have each accused of infringing patents on technology used in mobile phones and tablets, with lawsuits still pending in Milan and Sydney. Legal battle between the two companies intensified after Apple claimed in a lawsuit in April in the U.S., the Samsung Galaxy devices "slavishly" copied the iPhone and the iPad.

Apple's profits last quarter missed analysts for the first time in at least six years after customers delayed purchases in anticipation of handset new phone. Sales of the new model iPhone 4S, surpassed 4 million in the first weekend of sales, which began on 14 October, topping the previous sales record for the Apple handset.

Samsung and Nokia also brought new phones this month, as consumers increasingly use mobile phones to surf the Web, play videos and access to social networking sites.

 Samsung and Google Talk for pit-type technology Android Ice Cream Sandwich at Apple's Siri voice-command digital assistant. Nokia, which has a partnership with Microsoft Corp. this week unveiled its Windows-based mobile phone called Lumia 800th.