In a battle for global dominance of the mobile-device market. For the first time ever, Apple outdid archrival Samsung Electronics to become No. 1 mobile-phone vendor in the US, it is also the biggest smartphone vendor in the US, The company set a new record as it secured 34% of the total US mobile phone market.

Apple shipped an estimated 17.7 million mobile phones in the U.S. during the fourth quarter = 34 percent of the market share

In second place, South Korean electronics firm Samsung  sold an estimated 16.8 million handsets = 32 percent of the market share

LG shipped 4.7 million mobile phones to capture a 9 percent share of the market

Total mobile phone shipments grew 4 percent in the quarter to 52 million phones

Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston said. “We estimate Apple shipped 17.7 million mobile phones for a record 34 percent share of the United States market in the fourth quarter of 2012. This was up sharply from 12.8 million units shipped and 25 percent share in Q4 2011. Apple has become the number one mobile phone vendor by volume in the United States for the first time ever. Apple’s success has been driven by its popular ecosystem of iPhones and App Store, generous carrier subsidies, and extensive marketing around the new iPhone 5 model.”

Which mobile phones were the best sellers last quarter?

The Apple iPhone 5 took the top spot, Galaxy S3 grabbed 2nd place, followed by the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4, and the Samsung Galaxy S2.

Collectively, Apple and Samsung captured almost 70 percent of all smartphone sales during the quarter. That left Motorola with a 7 percent share and HTC and LG each with just 6 percent of the smartphone market.

According to Horace Dediu at Asymco, Samsung spends nearly $12 billion a year on advertising, commissions and sales promotions — more than Apple, HP, Dell, Microsoft and Coca Cola combined.

The charts below shows comparable ad spending:

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