Despite stealing the title for best-selling smartphone in the third quarter of 2010, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone only holds 26.2% of the market, whereas devices running Google’s Android software hold a commanding 44%.

New data released by Canalys today shows that Apple took the top spot as best-selling smartphone vendor in the U.S., narrowly beating RIM’s 24.2%. Apple achieved the greatest shipments of any vendor in the U.S., which is the largest smartphone market in the world. However, the research also showed that Android devices made up a whopping 43.6% of U.S. shipments in the same quarter.

“With Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson all delivering large numbers of Android devices, and with focused efforts from many other vendors, such as LG, Huawei and Acer, yielding promising volumes, the platform continues to gather momentum in markets around the world,” said Canalys Senior Analyst Pete Cunningham.

“Android has been well received by the market and in some geographies it is becoming a sought-after consumer brand. It has rapidly become the platform to watch, and its growing volumes will help to entice developers, ensuring consumers have access to an increasingly rich and vibrant mobile content and application ecosystem.”

According to the research, 9.1 millions smartphones running the Android operating system were shipped in the third quarter of 2010, whereas an estimated 5.5 million iPhones were sold in the same three-month period. RIM’s BlackBerry took third place in the mobile operating system race, with an estimated 5.1 million devices sold, followed by Microsoft with a measly 600,000.

[via AppleInsider]

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