By YOUNG MONEY Staff
29 July 2011

The extended decline of the Finnish telecom company Nokia may have passed a crucial threshold. Bloomberg reports that Samsung might have passed its longtime rival in smartphone sales for the first time in the second quarter.

The Korean electronics maker has taken up a strong position in the smartphone market with its Android-based Galaxy. On the back of that device, London-based Strategy Analytics estimates the company may have sold between 18 million and 21 million smartphones last quarter. Nokia, by contrast, sold only 16.7 million smartphones, well below the lowest Samsung estimate.

"Samsung stands a reasonable chance of capturing the top spot on a quarterly basis if it can continue expanding its Android portfolio across high-growth markets like China and Brazil," Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics told Bloomberg. "Samsung and Apple will be at similar levels in smartphones by the end of the year."

Last quarter, Apple sold around 20.3 million iPhones, within the range of Samsung, but will likely remain the top seller for the quarter.

A new report from IMS Research estimates that smartphone sales will reach 420 million this year, and broadly sees Samsung and Apple as the winners in this field.