Samsung Poised to Edge Nokia in Smartphone War

Samsung Electronics is expected to become the world's largest producer of smartphones in the second quarter of this year, Reuters reported on Monday, citing market research firm Nomura.

This means that Nokia, which has been leading the global market for cell phones since 1996, is likely to relinquish top spot to Samsung in this category.

Nomura also predicted that Nokia's smartphone sales will be overtaken by Apple in the third quarter, relegating the Finnish phone maker to third place in the global rankings.

Nokia's sales are expected to rank alongside those of Taiwan-based HTC next year.