Apple (AAPL) has had the best selling smartphone for years with the iPhone, but Google (GOOG) still claims the top spot in terms of phones that operate on its Android operating system.

It is easy to understand why Google has been able to stay on top since so many manufacturers are able to use Android on their phones, but since the new iPhone 4S has hit the market Apple has been making up some of the difference, and now looks like it may be able to not only have the best selling smartphone, but also able to gain the top spot in terms of phones running its iOS operating system.

Before the iPhone 4S launched, Android controlled around 60% of the market, with the iPhone capturing a respectable, yet distant, second place with 26% of the market. That has drastically changed, and now iOS has 43% of the market, with Android sitting at 47%.  An impressive jump to say the least for Apple.

iPhone sales continue to dominate the market, and in November it held the top 3 spots with the iPhone 4S, 4, and 3GS.

Whether or not Apple is able to get the top spot in terms of operating systems remains to be seen. Based on the strong estimates for the number of phones it is expected to have sold during the holiday season, it could easily gain the top spot when December numbers are made available.

As you can also see, it has really become a two dog race in this highly competitive market. With two out of every three phones being sold today being iPhones, it is an important market to dominate. Research in Motion (RIMM) continues to suffer, with its market share falling down to just 6%, a far cry from a few years ago when it was the biggest player in the market.

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