Gartner Q3 2008 data shows iPhone passes Windows Mobile and Nokia has first decline

One interesting item to note about HTC is that Gartner only counts the company's own branded devices, with many, many devices being branded by carriers and other manufacturers (Sony Ericsson, Palm, etc.). In the Others category a marketshare of 20.9% is shown so that data may not be accurately showing how high up HTC really should be in the comparison.

In looking at the operating system, the iPhone is at 12.9% compared to Windows Mobile at 11.1%. It is pretty shocking to me that the iPhone/Mac OS X operating system sales are greater than Windows Mobile given that there are so many different Windows Mobile devices and only two models of iPhones. Windows Mobile has also been around for quite some time. It looks like usability may be winning out over functionality and specifications.

Q3 2008 numbers show that smartphone sales are still increasing, at 11.5%, but it is the lowest growth rate that Gartner has ever measured. Nokia also saw it first recorded decline in sales of 3% compared to 2007 so they are definitely being pressured by the other major players.

The Google Android OS is just available on one device in the U.S. at this time and since it just recently launched it does not yet appear in the numbers.