Devices running Google's Android operating system accounted for 81 percent of all smartphones sold worldwide in the third quarter of 2013, according to a study released last week by IDC.
Of the more than 261 million units shipped, just under 140 million were Android phones, the report said. Samsung was far and away the most dominant vendor among Android makers, accounting for about 40 percent of the total, while competitors were restricted to single digits.
Windows Phone gains slowly
Still, author Ramon Llamas downplayed concerns that Samsung's dominance could have negative effects on the Android ecosystem as a whole.
"As strong as Samsung has been, it still needs smaller vendors for a comparison point both from a feature set perspective and a price point perspective. Depending on who these smaller vendors are, these also help Samsung maintain an aspirational position in the market, leading to sales and market share," he told Network World.
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