Samsung Extends Its Lead in the Smartphone Market

The global smartphone market grew 42 percent in the first quarter of 2013 as smartphones outshipped feature phones for the first time. In the three months that ended March 31, 216.2 million smartphones were shipped as opposed to just 202.4 million feature phones.

As the overall market grew, Samsung was able to strengthen its position as the undisputed market leader. The Korean electronics giant shipped more than 70 million smartphones in the first quarter, a 60 percent increase over last year's March quarter. What's truly astonishing is the fact that Samsung shipped more smartphones in the first quarter than the next four vendors did combined. That includes former market leader Apple, who shipped 37.4 million iPhones and showed the weakest relative growth among the Top 5 vendors.

LG Electronics managed to return to the Top 5, mainly thanks to strong sales of the Google-branded Nexus 4, which is manufactured by the Korean company. Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE complete the Top 5 with 9.9 and 9.1 million shipped units, respectively.