Juniper Research

Samsung was the clear leader in the smartphone market last quarter, according to new data from Juniper Research.

The research firm today reported that Samsung shipped 63 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, accounting for 30 percent of all shipments worldwide during the period. Apple came in second with 47.8 million sold. Most companies report shipments into the retail channel. Apple, however, reports total sales, which is why Juniper was forced to interchange those measures.

Apple and Samsung have easily separated themselves from the rest of the mobile pack. Nokia was only able to ship 6.6 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, while RIM is estimated to have shipped 6.7 million smartphones during that time.

Still, the smartphone market as a whole had a huge 2012, according to Juniper, with 671 million smartphones shipping last year. That figure was up nearly 42 percent year over year and includes over 200 million smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter alone.

Juniper wasn't the only research firm chiming in on the smartphone market. Research firm IDC reported today that based on its checks, 219.4 million smartphones shipped last quarter. Samsung led the way with 63.7 million shipments and 29 percent market share, IDC said, and Apple nabbed 21.8 percent of the market on its sales. As with Juniper, IDC reported a stellar fourth quarter for smartphone makers. IDC estimates 219.4 million smartphones shipped during the period, up 36.4 percent compared to the 160.8 million that shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Meanwhile, Strategy Analytics yesterday reported worldwide shipments of 700 million smartphones last year -- also noting the dominance of Samsung and Apple.