Smartphones Soar, But Fall Short Of Forecast

The PC and tablet markets may have struggled in the period before the holiday quarter, but there's one device that's still strong -- smartphones.

According to market research firm IDC, the smartphone market saw 6.8 percent growth from the same quarter last year, marking the second-highest shipment level for a single quarter. Despite the strong quarter's total smartphone shipments of 355.2 million, the results fell short of IDC's forecast of 363.8 million.

IDC noted several trends in the market, including several new Android flagship introductions from top-tier OEMs that added alternative buying options for consumers, as well as newly developed equipment installation plans and early trade-in options for customers.

Following are the top five smartphone vendors with the most shipments in the third quarter.