Samsung keeps global smartphone top spot

Canalys Q3 figures show Korean vendor and arch rival Apple together control nearly 50 per cent of the market

Battle lines are being redrawn in the global smartphone space, with Sony and HTC leapfrogging RIM and Nokia to claim a place in the top-five list.

Analyst Canalys' latest figures show the smartphone market reached 173.7 million units for the third quarter of the year, a significant 44 per cent increase on the same period last year.

Samsung retained the crown with 32 per cent of the global market, with rival Apple in second place with 15.5 per cent.

However, Sony lept into third place with 5.1 per cent of the market – its first top-five appearance since 2006. This was down to a strong brand relaunch and new products such as the Xperia P, S U and tipo encouraged strong uptake.

HTC kept hold of fourth place globally with 4.8 per cent of the market and floundering RIM finished off the top five with 4.2 per cent. Nokia failed to make the top five in Q3.

Pete Cunningham, principal analyst at Canalys, said HTC faced an uphill struggle for market share: "While going head to head with the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been challenging, the vendor has had strong sequential growth in major developing markets such as China and Indonesia.

"Q4 is going to be tough for it, along with the majority of Android- and Microsoft-based vendors and continued investment in the brand is of the utmost importance," he added.