Samsung and Apple aren't on good terms with each other as we all know. Both the companies are slamming lawsuits at each other left and right. Not much is spoken about the other aspect of the rivalry, the sales numbers. Apple has been leading the pack for quite a while now with its sales numbers surpassing Samsung's and Nokia's numbers fairly easily. Well, that is history now for Samsung has made its way to the top as the number one manufacturer in the world (in terms of sales) with 23.6 million shipments reported during Q3, with Apple coming in at second place with 17.3 million shipments. These numbers were calculated by IDC, which is a well known research firm. Therefore, Samsung now has 20% of the share of the global smartphone market while Apple is at 15%. Nokia's figures have dramatically dropped with the company losing half of its market share from the last quarter. The Finnish mobile manufacturer had 28% of the total smartphone market share during Q2 and now it has only 14%. RIM's market share also has taken a beating coming down to 10% from 15%. HTC, however, has crept up to the top five list with about 11% of the market share now. That's a growth of 4% from the last quarter. It is importantto bear in mind that shipments do not actually reflect into sales.

So what do these figures tell us? Well, Apple doesn't rule the smartphone segment anymore, though it is being said that the wait for the new iPhone might have been a contributing factor for the low sales. Q4's numbers will give us a better idea of where the companies stand, since by then, most brands will have a flagship of their own. Nokia will have the Lumia in the market, while the iPhone 4S is almost a month old and Samsung is looking at the launch of the Galaxy Nexus. We don't have the numbers on the profits that these companies made but we figure Apple would top that list since it only has a couple of smartphones in its inventory. Either way, Samsung is now sitting right on top and we expect the company to do well in the current quarter as well.