Androids outpaced iPhones in third quarter

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The battle between Google's Android and Apple's iOS smartphones rages on in the market. For at least the last quarter, though, it appears that the Android OS has the upper hand. Recent IDC research found that the Android market share rose to 81 percent in the third quarter of 2013, while Apple's share dipped to 12.9 percent.

The lull in Apple's share wasn't reflective of the quarter they had though, as sales grew by more than 25 percent from last year. But Android smartphone sales jumped up quite significantly over the past year, as they increased their market share from just about 75 percent. One possible reason for this gain by Android devices is pricing.

“Android and Windows Phone continued to make significant strides in the third quarter. Despite their differences in market share, they both have one important factor behind their success: price,” IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said. “Both platforms have a selection of devices available at prices low enough to be affordable to the mass market, and it is the mass market that is driving the entire market forward.”

The numbers, however, don't include the sales of the latest iPhones, the 5S and the 5C. Therefore, IDC projects a strong fourth quarter market share for Apple, as 9 million of these new devices were sold in the first weekend.

Apple, Samsung square off in courtroom
The battle for smartphone market supremacy between Apple and Samsung has spilled over into the legal realm recently. The Associated Press reported that the two companies are squaring off in a courtroom battle in San Jose, California.

According to the article, Apple is claiming that the Android phones from Samsung copy features from the iPhone, while Samsung believes that Apple has some patents that are invalid and that the company has copied some of their technology.

This battle is just the latest in a war between the two companies. In August, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple more than $1 billion after a jury found the company infringed upon six different Apple patents.

Because the trial is held so close to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, court officials are selecting jury members who don't have any family members working at the company or any biases towards Apple products.

Should a smartphone user have any Samsung cell phone repair or iPhone repair needs, send the device to iResQ, where expert technicians handle all types of repair services.

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