According to the latest numbers from Canalys, HTC has left Apple and Samsung behind to become the number one smartphone in the United States in the third quarter of this year.  The numbers show that HTC sold 5.7 million smart phones under the HTC brand and an additional 70,000 phones under the T-Mobile brand. HTC’s smartphone shipments accounted for nearly one quarter of the entire U.S. smartphone segment, beating out second place contender (Samsung) by nearly 1 million units.

The majority of HTC growth is thanks to the amazing growth of the smartphone sector, however,  HTC’s variety of new handsets on all major U.S. carriers have given potential customers more option to choose from an array of phones in multiple price categories.  With the HTC Vivid, HTC EVO Design 4G, HTC amaze 4G, and the upcoming HTC Rezound,  HTC will surely be able to hold on to the number one spot in Q4 as well.

Also,Samsung pushed Apple into third place in the US market, with shipments of its own-brand devices reaching 4.9 million units. Apple’s US smart phone shipments totaled 4.6 million in the quarter and it was affected around the world by consumers waiting for the launch of the next-generation iPhone.