Two separate reports released today confirmed that Samsung has now overtaken Nokia as the world's top cell phone maker.
They were at odds, however, over whether Samsung or Apple is the most-popular smartphone maker.
According to IHS iSuppli, Samsung shipped 92 million handsets in the first quarter while Nokia shipped 83 million. While Samsung's total was a 13 percent drop from the fourth quarter of last year, Nokia's total was a 27 percent drop, helping Samsung nab the top spot after 14 years of Nokia dominance, according to iSuppli.
Rounding out the top five, according to iSuppli, was Apple with 35 million shipments, a 5 percent decline from the previous quarter, LG with 14 million, and RIM with 11 million.
Strategy Analytics reported similar numbers, putting Samsung at 25.4 percent market share for global handset shipments, followed by Nokia at 22.5 percent, and Apple at 9.5 percent.
"Five years after it captured the number-two spot from Motorola, Samsung has finally become the world's largest handset vendor in volume terms," Alex Spektor, associate director at Strategy Analytics, said in a statement.
Nokia's drop, according to Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston, can be attributed to a decline in low-end feature phone shipments, as well as the failure of the new Windows Phone-based Lumia line to offset the decline of Nokia's Symbian business.
Who's the Smartphone Winner?
On the smartphone front, however, iSuppli put Apple at number one, while Strategy Analytics pointed to Samsung.
According to iSuppli, Apple shipped 35 million smartphones in the first quarter to Samsung's 32 million. Strategy Analytics, however, said Samsung's total was 44.5 million to Apple's 35.1 million. Nokia landed at number three on both lists with 12 percent market share.
"With cell phones now accounting for more than 40 percent of Samsung's overall revenue, it's clear that the company's continued investments in smartphone hardware and software R&D are paying off," said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli. "The company is not only cashing in on the market's shift to smartphones, but is also succeeding in other cellphone product categories, allowing it to capture the overall market lead."
Lam said Samsung's performance is all the more impressive because its next smartphone, the Galaxy S III, has yet to be launched. It's expected to unveiled at a May 3 event in London. "This indicates Samsung is likely to make further progress in market share in 2012," Lam said.