Samsung Electronics has overtaken Motorola to become the leading cellphone handset vendor in the US, says research firm Strategy Analytics.

"Samsung's growing retail presence and an attractive high-tier handset portfolio for all of the big four operators have proved crucial in grabbing the prestigious title of the No. 1 vendor in the world's single largest handset market," said analyst Bonny Joy.

Samsung became the number one handset vendor in North America for the first time in Q3 2008. Samsung's broad device porfolio across multiple carriers, technologies and segments were the key reasons behind its growth, said the research firm. Other notable gainers included LG, Apple and Sony Ericsson.

At the same time, Motorola, which had been the top vendor in its home market since 2004, saw market share drop to 21.1 per cent from 32.7 per cent a year before. Motorola is expected to miss expectations in the fourth quarter and will struggle in the mobile phone business further in the first quarter of 2009. X

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