More Q3 2009 phone sales figures have appeared, this time from IDC, tabled below and looking purely at the Western Europe market. In summary, the market grew 5% year-on-year, with over 46 million handsets sold. Smartphone sales weren't quite as strong, with touchscreens now making their way into the traditional 'feature phone' space. Nokia's still the market leader, at 35% (down 1%), and Symbian OS still leads the smartphone platforms at 48% marketshare (though down from 59% in Q2). More details below.

From the IDC press release:

"Overall, Nokia continues to be the market leader, with 35.3% market share in 3Q09, followed by Samsung with 30.5%. The gap between these two has been narrowing, and Nokia is facing a significant threat of being overtaken by Samsung in Western Europe in 2010. The Korean manufacturer is already the leader in the traditional mobile phone segment, and is developing a wider portfolio of smartphones, with several devices running Windows Mobile, Android, and LiMo, which will allow Samsung to significantly increase its smartphone shipments in 2010. During the quarter, LG overtook Sony Ericsson's position, becoming the third biggest player in Western Europe for the first time.

Android OS continued to grow its market share from 4.2% in 2Q09 to 5.4% in 3Q09. Several operators listed Android devices in 3Q09 for the first time, which helped Android shipments to grow, though consumers steer clear of Google's OS and sell-out is below everyone's expectations. Consumers recognize the Google brand, but still do not understand what Android is. The lack of devices available didn't help to raise awareness, though this is expected to change, with more handsets from LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, and other vendors hitting the market soon. BlackBerry OS continued to perform well, growing 87% YoY and increasing market share among smartphones from 13% to 16% during the quarter, with BlackBerry Curve 8520 shipping well on the consumer channel. Windows Mobile continued to lose market share, mainly due to Microsoft's strategy of launching all new devices running the new WM6.5 in October and not throughout the summer sales season, which negatively impacted market performance. The new OS is getting good track from operators, and WM market share is expected to improve in 4Q09. Symbian was hit hard by growth in Mac OS, BlackBerry OS, and Android, and its market share declined from 59% in 2Q09 to 48% in 3Q09. It remains the biggest OS among smartphones, however. Apple's strategy of opening to other operators in Europe helped increase market share from 16% in 2Q09 to 24% in 3Q09."

Top Western European Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments and Market Share, 3Q09 (Units in Millions)