Such new territory is second spot for Nokia, in fact, that the firm claims the firm's very existence is now in doubt, stating the Finnish firm should now be put "on death watch."
Down and out
Nokia boasts a 23 percent share of the global mobile market according to ABI Research's numbers, putting it behind Samsung on 26 percent but well ahead of Apple on 10 percent.
Nonetheless, the firm claims Nokia's handset shipments dropped 24 percent year on year a fall it cannot sustain for too much longer.
"To put it in perspective, Nokia's single quarter shipment decline is equal to ZTE and LG combined shipments this quarter," said ABI Research's Michael Morgan.
"Two more quarters of this and Nokia will have to struggle to remain in the top ten. ABI Research believes it is time to put Nokia on death watch."
Two horse race
As for Samsung, ABI Research believes the Korean giant may now pull away from the competition, with the company having extended its lead over Apple during the last quarter.
"With pre-orders of the Galaxy S3 already in the millions and the continued success of the Galaxy S2 and the 5-inch Galaxy Note phablet', it appears that Samsung will only widen its lead over competitors in 2012," added Morgan.
"If Apple can maintain its current rate of growth with its upcoming iPhone, ABI Research believes Apple could become the No. 2 handset OEM by 2013."
[source: FierceWireless]
