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Apple has the top selling phones, but it's still losing market share to Android

Apple has the top selling phones, but it's still losing market share to Android

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Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS were two top selling phones in Q3 2011 according to NPD Group. From a platform perspective, Gartner saw Android sales grow 194 percent and account for over 50 percent of all smartphone sales.

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Galaxy Nexus iPhone comparison
Galaxy Nexus iPhone comparison

According to new numbers from the NPD Group, the iPhone 4S launch delay didn't hurt Apple from a sales perspective. Over a year past launch, the iPhone 4 was the top selling phone in all of Q3 2011, with the two-year-old iPhone 3GS coming in at number two. Interestingly, the HTC Evo 4G, Motorola Droid 3, and Samsung Intensity II, hardly the latest and greatest devices, rounded out the top five. While some consumers may have waited for the latest iPhone to finally be released in Q4, it seems most were happy to continue buying Apple's older wares.

Though Apple may have dominated on an individual device level, Gartner's Q3 2011 sales data shows Android pulling away from iOS. Android sales grew 194 percent year-over-year and the platform now accounts for more than 50 percent of all smartphones sold. The iPhone's 21 percent growth trailed the overall smartphone market growth and its share of the market dropped to 15 percent. Gartner predicts that Q4's numbers will likely show some significant changes, and we'd have to agree — with the iPhone 4S, Galaxy Nexus, and Nokia's first Windows Phone 7 handsets all going head-to-head, the holiday season will be an all-out smartphone war.