Android grabbed 53% market share, during iPhone 4S-free quarter

Android phone makers did as much right during the third quarter as competitors did wrong. The Google OS grabbed nearly 53% 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.

"Some consumers held off upgrading in the third quarter," she added, "because they were waiting for promotions on other new high-end models that were launched in the run-up to the fourth quarter holiday season."

Worldwide device shipments during the quarter totaled 440.5 million, up from 417.1 million a year earlier, with smartphones accounting for 115 million units — up 43% from a year ago but just 7% from the quarter before.

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.

Gartner is optimistic about the fourth quarter, and things are likewise looking sunny for Nokia, which despite losing market share showed some growth, with its dual-SIM phones driving a good portion of overall device sales.

Around the Windows Phone–running Nokia Lumia, Cozza expects heavy marketing from Nokia and Microsoft — whose OS share fell to 1.5% during the quarter, from 2.7% a year ago — and signs of improvement for both in the fourth quarter.

However a true turnaround, she added, "wont' take place until the second half of 2012."