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iSuppli: Samsung forecasted to unseat Nokia for top ranking in 2012 global phone shipments

Between the years of 1998 and 2011, Nokia consistently took the first-place prize for global unit shipments, outpacing both Samsung and Apple. This year, however, iSuppli projects that the Finnish firm will slip to the second position, representing 24 percent of device shipments, compared to 29 percent for Samsung and just 10 percent for Apple. It looks like further adoption of smartphones is to blame for the shift (feature phones and basic handsets represent a large portion of Nokia's sales), and based on expectations for the future, demand for full-featured devices is only expected to rise, potentially enabling Samsung to maintain its new top slot for many years to come. This year, Samsung is expected to dominate the smartphone market as well, with 28 percent of total shipments in that category, compared to 20 percent for Apple and just 5 percent each for Nokia, HTC and RIM. Hit up our source link for the full breakdown.