Canalys (http://www.canalys.com) has published its worldwide country-level second-quarter smart phone market estimates, showing that Apple has overtaken Nokia as the top smartphone vendor.

Android, the number one platform by shipments since the fourth quarter of 2010, was the strongest growth driver in the quarter, with Android-based smartphone shipments up 379% over a year ago to 51.9 million units, notes the research group. In addition, with shipments of 20.3 million iPhones and a market share of 19%, iOS overtook Nokia's Symbian platform during the quarter to take second place worldwide. In doing so, Apple also became the world's leading individual smart phone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position, says Canalys.

"The iPhone has been a phenomenal success story for Apple and a watershed product for the market," says Canalys Vice President and Principal Analyst Chris Jones. "It's an impressive success story, given that Apple has only been in the smartphone market for four years. With the next-generation iPhone anticipated in the third quarter, it's likely that Apple's position will grow even stronger in the second half of the year."