Samsung released its flagship smartphone Galaxy S3 in May this year, which became one of the best-selling smartphones in the market, and in September this year Apple launched its much-awaited iPhone 5, which recorded highest ever sales for any iPhone.

Both the devices have contributed to the overall smartphone sales for their respective companies, but per an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, Samsung sold nearly two times as many smartphones units when compared to Apple.

"The worldwide mobile phone market grew 2.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), driven by heavyweights Samsung and Apple as Nokia dropped off the Top 5 list of smartphone vendors," reported IDC.

Furthermore, IDC's senior research analyst Kevin Restivo noted that "Nokia's share losses have meant gains for competitors." Restivo further added that "The company's transition away from Symbian-powered smartphones to ones shipped with Windows Phone has left ample opportunity for rivals to steal share away from Nokia over the past 18 months. However, the smartphone market is still relatively nascent, which means there's room for multiple vendors and operating systems to flourish, including Nokia."

According to IDC, Samsung held 31.3 percent of market share for smartphones and shipped over 53.3 million units of smartphones in Q3 2012, which according to IDC, marks the first time since Q4 2009 that " a single company held more than 31% market share in a single quarter."

Apple held 15 percent of the smartphone market share with a total of 26.9 million units shipped in Q3 2012. This figure includes sales figure for the new iPhone 5, which went on sale just seven days before the quarter end.

Apple's smartphone line-up comprises only of iPhones. On the other hand, Samsung has a vast variety of smartphones on offer for users.

"Samsung's growth was fueled in large part by its broad, deep, and refreshed Android portfolio, highlighted by the full quarter availability of its flagship model Galaxy S III. In addition, the company announced multiple mid-range and mass-market models, including a new Windows Phone, the ATIV S," stated the IDC report.

Samsung and Apple are undoubtedly the most popular smartphone manufacturers in the smartphone arena. A decade ago, manufacturers like Research in Motion (RIM) and Nokia were among the most popular handset makers. It is anybody's guess if the smartphone industry will see other smartphone manufacturers dominate the market in the near future.