Smart phone shipments to Vietnam reached an all-time high in third quarter of this year, with local vendors grabbing a significant amount of market share, according to the latest IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Units of smart phones shipped to the country rose 83 percent year-over-year (YoY), a growth made all the more significant because total mobile phone shipments declined by 9 percent YoY.

Androids continued to dominate Vietnam ’s smart phone market, posting strong growth on the back of its large library of mobile applications and growing base of local developers.

The anticipated launch of new iOS for Apple and Windows Phone 8 handsets in fourth quarter is expected to keep the market in an active and competitive state, the report said.

Samsung is still the runaway leader in the smart phone segment, and its success has inspired a number of local vendors to attempt to break into the market.

HTC climbed to second position with the Desire and One series selling consistently well, while LG has placed greater emphasis on the smart phone segment as its feature phone line-up struggled to compete.

Nokia's market share has declined due to low demand for its older Lumia series, severely impacted by its lack of upgradeability to Windows Phone 8.

Meanwhile, Q-Mobile has introduced Q-Smart, a new brand of smart phone, with the aim of distinguishing itself in the fast-growing smart phone space.-VNA