Samsung tops phone sales in third quarter

Samsung Galaxy S3
The Galaxy S3 led the recent sales bump

According to technology research firm Gartner, Samsung outsold Apple and Nokia to claim the highest mobile phone sales numbers for the third quarter of 2012.

The report says that in addition to selling 98 million phones in Q3 (gaining a 22.9 percent market share), Samsung also has the top-selling smartphone of the quarter, the Galaxy S3.

In the sub-market of smartphones, Samsung sold 55 million units, while Apple sold 23.6 million.

Nokie outsold Apple in moblie phone numbers for the quarter with 82 million sales, though it only sold 7.2 million smartphones.

The big little picture

With Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, making up the majority of its quarter sales, it's clear that the Korean tech manufacturer has carved a new, more premium path for its sales bias.

Apple maintained its strong stance with the record-setting introduction of the iPhone 5, but the product's various bugs and flailing maps app may have kept it out of more consumers' hands.

Nokia continued in its long-standing bargain phone success, and has just now begun to see sales from its Windows Phone 8 Lumia 920. Sales of the Lumia 920 may suffer due to recent reports of unexpected reboots and battery issues.

Now that all the big manufacturers have their phones on store shelves, the fourth quarter and its holiday bump will see some stiff competition for consumer attention between these mobile phones giants.

Via PC World, CIO