Despite the Windows Mobile rumours, it's Symbian thats dying

Canalys has published their latest Q3 2008 smartphone numbers, and despite wide-spread proclamations that Windows Mobile is not just dying but dead already, it was in fact Symbian which not only saw a 21.5% drop in marketshare, but also a 12.4% drop in actual shipments, as Japanese Symbian OEM’s move to other platforms and even Nokia struggle to get into the touch screen phone market.

Windows Mobile on the other hand defied the critics by posting a 42.9% YoY growth in sales, and even gained marketshare, clearly stealing sales from Symbian , who was the only contender in the market that actually lost sales.

Windows Mobile sales rocketed by 1.6 million extra devices YoY on the strength of compelling devices from HTC and Samsung in particular, according to Canalys.

Of course it would be foolish not to mention the strong sales of the iPhone 3G, which now takes second place only second to Symbian. It is however of note than of the 6.9 million devices shipped, it has been suggested than 2 million devices may still be sitting on shelves, the result of major channel stuffing by Apple, and that Q4 2008 may look very different, with Apple shipping up to 40% less devices.

Read Canalys’s analysis for more information.