By Stephen Schenck | December 19, 2012 5:34 PM
We at Pocketnow all had our own opinions about the best smartphones of the year, but when we looked at your favorites from the comments, Samsung devices came out on top. It seems like that same love for Samsung hardware translated to some fantastic sales, as year-end estimates come in. While Samsung and Apple duked it out for the top spot in 2011, putting on a pretty even showing, Samsung really pulled ahead this year, with its shipments of smartphones accounting for something like 28% of the global market.
Last year, both Apple and Samsung shipped about 20% of all smartphones each, and despite Samsung’s gains this year, Apple did just about the same. Instead, companies like Nokia, RIM, and even HTC took big hits, delivering from around one half to one third of the units they did last year.
While we’re focused on smartphones, it’s also interesting to see how the market’s changing for cellphones as a whole, dumbphones included. Once again, Samsung finds itself on top, finally knocking Nokia out of its long-held top spot. Apple also saw some nice gains there, and its lack of non-smartphone options indicates that the market continues to migrate towards smartphones.
