In contrast, LG Electronics fell to third place. In the third quarter (which ended Sept. 30), Samsung posted a market share of 22.4 percent to become the No. 1 handset manufacturer according to Boston-based research firm Strategy Analytics.

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New Samsung Omnia. Due in Australia this month.

Motorola fell to second place with a 21.1 percent share during the quarter. Motorola, which had been the top vendor in its home-turf since 2004, suffered a drastic market share drop from 32.7 percent a year before. LG ranked third with 20.5 percent.

Analysts and industry watchers say Samsung, which also trails behind industry leader Nokia, has been offering carriers a full portfolio of devices, from high-end products such as touch-screen Instinct, messaging phones of Blackjack I, II and Glyde, to lower-end phones given freely to customers who sign up with a particular carrier.

"Growing retail presence and high-tier handset models appealed to all four big operators," the research firm said, adding Motorola now faces challenges in the U.S. as it doesn't have a product in the smart-phone segment.

About 30 percent of mobile phone shipments in the U.S. are smart phones that have e-mail and Web surfing functions.

Samsung is fully set to propel its newest Omnia phones, which run Windows Mobile 6.1 with Motorola, planning to introduce a smart phone operating Windows Mobile 6.5 by the second half of next year, along with a device backed by Google's Android open-source software.