One of the big stories to follow in 2013 will be the intensifying competition among smartphone vendors for market share in important emerging markets such as China, Brazil and India. Forbes points us to a new survey from mobile marketing firm Upstream showing that Samsung (005930) is the most popular smartphone brand for prospective buyers in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and India, while Nokia (NOK) holds onto the top spot in Nigeria, where Samsung didn’t register on the survey. The survey also contained some potentially troubling news for BlackBerry (BBRY), which only registered double-digit interest from prospective buyers in Nigeria while falling below 10% in the other three countries. Upstream founder and CEO Marco Veremis tells Forbes that BlackBerry and Nokia tend to do well in African nations because they provide “easy access to social networks and the Web” and, especially in Nokia’s case, they offer superior battery life.

Prior to joining BGR as News Editor, Brad Reed spent five years covering the wireless industry for Network World. His first smartphone was a BlackBerry but he has since become a loyal Android user.