Apple became the fourth global mobile phone vendor

According to a new IDC report last quarter sales made Apple number four in the list of global mobile phone vendors. The first places are still occupied by Nokia, Samsung and LG Electronics respectively. Apple has been always perceived as a top smartphone vendor, but this is the first quarter when Apple really cracked the top-5 list of global mobile phone vendors.

It is the first time for 6 years when IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker has excluded Sony Ericsson from the top-5 list. The report reveals that over the last quarter the iPhone has appeared in 17 more countries, which can explain its explosive sales.

According to the IDC senior research analyst Kevin Restivo, the smartphones keep increasing its share on mobile phone market.

"The entrance of Apple to the top 5 vendor ranking underscores the increased importance of smartphones to the overall market. Moreover, the mobile phone makers that are delivering popular smartphone models are among the fastest growing firms".

In year-over-year results Apple almost doubled its sales (90.5% more than last year). LG Electronics has their sales decreased on 10%. For RIM last quarter also became record as the company saw a 45.9% increase in comparison to Q3 2009.

Previously Steve Jobs also told his company had overtaken RIM:

"We've now passed RIM. I don't see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future. It will be a challenge for them to create a mobile software platform and convince developers to support a third platform."