Nokia remains the world's largest supplier of mobile-phone shipments.
Samsung, however, isn't far behind, figures from International Data Corp. (IDC) show.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Samsung shipped 97.6 mobile phones controlling 22.8 percent of the global phone market. The Seoul, South Korea-based company recorded nearly 21 percent growth over the year-ago period and benefitted partly from growing smartphone shipments, including the Galaxy Nexus, according to IDC, the research and consulting firm.
Nokia's market share declined year over year to 26.6 percent from 30.7 percent, IDC said, but the Finland-based company still shipped 113.5 million mobile phones. That's down from 123.7 million shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Still, analysts believe Nokia is in a good position to defend its leading position as the No. 1 supplier of mobile phones. IDC cited Nokia's "broad distribution around the world and manufacturing capabilities." Nokia also is banking on a partnership with Microsoft to generate substantial interest in its smartphones.
| Vendor | 4Q11 Unit Shipments | 4Q11 Market Share | 4Q10 Unit Shipments | 4Q10 Market Share | Year-over-year Change |
| Nokia | 113.5 | 26.6% | 123.7 | 30.7% | -8.2% |
| Samsung | 97.6 | 22.8% | 80.7 | 20.0% | 20.9% |
| Apple | 37.0 | 8.7% | 16.2 | 4.0% | 128.4% |
| LG Electronics | 17.7 | 4.1% | 30.6 | 7.6% | -42.2% |
| ZTE | 17.1 | 4.0% | 15.7 | 3.9% | 8.9% |
| Others | 144.5 | 33.8% | 135.9 | 33.7% | 6.3% |
| Total | 427.4 | 100% | 402.8 | 100% | 6.1% |
Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
Samsung is not the only vendor showing impressive growth. In the fourth quarter, Apple surpassed LG and ZTE as the third-largest supplier of mobile phones, thanks to a monstrous 37 million shipments of the iPhone 4S.
