Android Market Share in Q3 Passes 50 Percent

Android phones grabbed a 53% share of the global market share during the quarter, more than doubling its 25% of a year earlier, according to new figures from Gartner.

Sales were led by Samsung, which for the first time, said Gartner, was the top smartphone seller, beating Nokia in Western Europe and Asia.

"Android benefitted from more mass-market offerings, a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems such as Windows Phone 7 and RIM," said Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza in a statement.

Apple, notably, had pushed introduction of its newest iPhone from the summer to the fall. Consumers were waiting for it to go on sale, and for older iPhones to be discounted, which "affected U.S. sales particularly," said Cozza.

While combined Android sales gang up on iOS, it's notable that Apple, with sales of 17.3 million units, roundly beat HTC (12.1 million) and Motorola (11.2 million), though Samsung moved 78.6 million devices, topped only by Nokia's 105 million.