IDC Confirms Apple Now Surpassed By Samsung In Smartphones

Research firm IDC has issued new data today further confirming recent reports that Samsung has overtaken Apple in worldwide smartphone shipments. Samsung is said to have shipped 23.6 million smartphones during the summer, which puts it in the lead with a 20 percent share of the global smartphone market. The wait and anticipation for the iPhone 4S drove Apple's iPhone shipments down to second place.

Samsung's smartphone shipments tripled from the same period last year. Its now 20 percent share in the smartphone market is up from 8.8 percent the year before. Apple's smartphone shipments for last quarter was about 17.1 million units, pushing it down to 15 percent market share from 17 percent.

Nokia's slice of the market continues to shrink as it lost more than half of its market share, which is now down to 14 percent. RIM's BlackBerry smartphones also slid, falling to 10 percent market share from 15 percent. Meanwhile, HTC saw a boost in market share from 7.1 percent to 11 percent, now placing it in the top five for the first time.

[via Bloomberg]