Android captures 80.6 pc of 3Q world smartphone shipment

NEW YORK, USA: ABI Research reports 438 million handsets and 244 million smartphones shipped during the third quarter of 2013. Smartphone shipment penetration was 56 percent in Q3, setting a record high for the third consecutive quarter.

Samsung retained its lead in handset shipments and grew its share of smartphone shipments to 35 percent, while Apple share remained flat at 14 percent.

Windows Phone achieved 165 percent growth year-on-year, with Nokia accounting for 95 percent of that shipment volume. Supported by strong Android shipment growth from Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, and Samsung, Android reached a new high of 80.6 percent shipment share in Q3.

"The race for the third ecosystem is clearly favoring Windows Phone with 4 percent market share, over BlackBerry's 1.5 percent, but there remains little opportunity for new market entrants to make a significant impact on Android's dominance," said senior analyst, Michael Morgan.

Despite a strong showing in late Q3 for Apple's new iPhones, company revenue guidance for Q4 indicates a record 53 million iPhones will ship.

"Even with a record Q4 for the iPhone, Apple is only expected to achieve 18.7 percent market share which is down from the 22.6 percent Apple achieved in Q4 2012, due to Android's growing dominance and the importance of emerging markets," adds senior practice director, Nick Spencer.