Canalys (http://www.canalys.com) has released its worldwide country-level smart phone market data for the first quarter of 2011, revealing that Android led the market for the second quarter running, and, with 35.7 million units shipped, increased its share to 35%. Apple has 19%, says the research group.

Overall, worldwide smart phone shipments grew 83% to 101.0 million units. Though its market share shrank from 39% a year ago to 24% in Q1 2011, Nokia held onto its worldwide leadership position with 24.2 million units shipped -- a 13% year-on-year rise -- despite the current realignment of its platform strategy.

"Nokia is under considerable strain in the smart phone market as it transitions strategy, platforms and people" says Canalys Principal Analyst Pete Cunningham. "Its worldwide reach, however, should never be underestimated. Canalys’ country-level data shows that the vendor remains number one in 28 countries, including mainland China, where it grew 79% to 8.9 million units, thanks in part to Chinese New Year shipments."

At a platform level, Android’s continued dominance was boosted by good performances by a number of key vendors.

"HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola and Sony Ericsson drove Android shipments in the first quarter, with each vendor shipping well over three million devices," says Cunningham. "Samsung also shipped nearly 3.5 million bada operating system-based smart phones, outperforming total shipments of Windows Phone devices by more than a million units."

Nokia, Apple, RIM, Samsung and HTC were the top five global smart phone vendors, as in Q4 2010. Apple continued to make market share gains, reaching 19%. RIM’s share, however, dropped in Q1, as its portfolio awaited a refresh and the vendor focused on the PlayBook launch. Overtaking Motorola, LG moved into sixth place, with its Optimus series of Android smart phones doing well in all regions.

The US remained the largest country for smart phone shipments, with Apple substantially extending its lead, achieving a share of 31% and growth of over 150% year on year. Volumes were boosted significantly by shipments of the iPhone 4 with Verizon Wireless. Android remained the leading smart phone platform in the US for the third consecutive quarter, with a 49% share. Growing by well over 200%, HTC became the leading Android vendor in the US and the second-place smart phone vendor in the country overall.