Smartphone market: Android extends gains on Apple, Windows Phone is third

WASHINGTON: The Google Android system extended its gains over Apple's iPhoneglobally in the last quarter of 2013, and Windows Phone grabbed the number three market position, a survey showed Wednesday.

The IDC survey found Android had a 78.1 percent share of global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter, bolstered by a 40 percent jump in the number of handsets delivered.

Apple got only a modest boost in the fourth quarter from the release of its new iPhones, with sales up 6.7 percent compared with a year earlier. That means its market shareslipped to 17.6 percent from 20.9 percent, according to IDC.

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