Hot on the heels of the report from the analytics firm Canalys, market research firm IDC has reaffirmed Apple as the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. Unlike the findings from Canalys, which grouped smartphone OS platforms together irrespective of manufacturer, IDC's study has broken down shipment numbers in Q2 2011 according to device vendors. The findings (courtesy of Engadget) are as follows:

Smartphone shipments in Q2 2011 totalled 106.6 million, an increase of 42.2 million from last year. Out of that pie, Apple's total number of smartphones shipped is 20.34 million putting them in first place with a share of 19.1%. Despite Apple's growth they are not running away with the crown, as Samsung's surge in sales have seen them hop past beleaguered Nokia to take the second spot. RIM and HTC (the other Android manufacturer) round of the top smartphone manufacturers in the world.

IDC noted that:

“Apple’s success can be directly attributed to its distribution (more than 200 carriers in more than 200 countries), increased manufacturing capacity, and solid demand within emerging and developed markets from both consumers and business users ... Apple’s emergence as the number one smartphone vendor worldwide comes at a time when former worldwide leader Nokia is in the midst of a major transition. However, Apple has yet to top Nokia’s single-quarter volume record of 28.1 million units. But given Apple’s momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when.”

Source: Boy Genius Report