The quarter was good news for Google's OS Android, which saw its share double from 2010 to 52.5% of the global smartphone market.
Windows Phone 7 struggled to make its mark, with shipments of smartphones running the Microsoft OS falling from 2.2 million last yaer to 1.7 million this year, and market share diving from 2.7% to 1.5% - below RIM and Samsung's Bada.
Principle Gartner researcher Roberta Cozza said part of Android's success was a result of "a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems such as Windows Phone 7 and RIM".
Apple held onto the third position with 15% of the global smartphone market, while Symbian remained in second with 16.9%.
Gartner reported that smartphone adoption increased 42% to 115 million units in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year, although much of the growth continues to be in emerging markets.
