Global smartphone shipments surged +38% annually in Q4 2012. We estimate the top 10 smartphone families accounted for over two thirds of smartphones shipped worldwide during the quarter. Samsung and Apple top the charts, but Sony's Xperia, LG's Optimus and Huawei 's Ascend series are quietly gaining traction. This report, Global Smartphone Shipments by Family / Model: Q4 2012, available to the clients of our HCST (Handset Country Share Tracker) service, tracks the world's best-selling smartphone families and models by shipment volumes from Q1 2011 to Q4 2012. This report will give you the information on how many units of iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note and other flagship models from smartphone vendors have been shipped on a quarterly basis for two years. In this regards, this report is a valuable tool for component makers, car manufacturers, content suppliers, mobile operators, device vendors and other stakeholders who want to identify and measure the world's most-popular smartphones by individual model.

According to our Country Share Tracker (CST) service, smartphone shipments surged +64% annually in China during the fourth quarter of 2012. Android and Android forks together accounted for a record volume of all smartphones shipped in China last year. Apple iOS followed in second place. More analysis can be downloaded by clients here.

According to our Country Share Tracker (CST) service, China smartphone shipments increased +61% YoY in Q3 2012, surging way ahead of the United States and confirming its position as the world's largest country by volume. Samsung stayed top, but Lenovo is second and closing the gap. Huawei, ZTE and Coolpad continued to jostle for the remaining top-five slots. Almost all the "big 10" smartphone brands in China now use Android, putting pressure on Microkia and Apple iPhone. More analysis and data can be downloaded by clients in this published report.