Apple moves into top five phone manufacturers thanks to iPhone 4

Despite the fact that Android OS is now outselling iOS devices as a whole according to most surveys, Apple is still managing to stay at the top of the heap in smartphone sales themselves. According to IDC's Worldwide Phone Tracker, Apple is now the fourth biggest manufacturer of phones -- smart or not -- overall.

In the third quarter of this year, the company shipped some 14.1 million units, likely due to strong sales of the iPhone 4. This was an increase of 90 percent over last year, and by far the biggest jump for any manufacturer.

In moving into fourth spot, Apple passed Blackberry maker Research in Motion, which while also showing substantial growth failed to match Apple's success. The Curve led RIM to record shipments in the Latin American maket, the firm reported.

"The entrance of Apple to the top 5 vendor ranking underscores the increased importance of smartphones to the overall market," IDC senior research analyst Kevin Restivo said in a statement. "Vendors that aren't developing a strong portfolio of smartphones will be challenged to maintain and grow market share in the future."

Nokia still remains on top, although its shipments grew about two percent year over year to 110.4 million units. That was still far above second place Samsung, which shipped 71.4 million devices during the quarter. Its overall share of the market did drop though, from 36.5 to 32.4 percent.

"Nokia's grip on the traditional mobile phone market has been somewhat loosened, as multiple Chinese vendors have gained ground, especially within emerging markets," IDC's Ramon Llamas explained. "To bolster its overall competitiveness, Nokia has been focused on improving its smartphone offerings."

IDC expects growth in the mobile device market to be primarily smartphone-driven by 2014, as consumers increasingly turn to more feature rich devices as part of the traditional upgrade cycle.