Samsung Electronics will continue to edge out Apple Inc. to stay on top of the ever-fierce smartphone market in the fourth quarter, a U.S. market research firm said.

Though Apple’s iPhone 4S is triggering a new consumer frenzy worldwide, Samsung would benefit from its larger display panels, richer product lineup and capability for the faster LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network, according to Strategy Analytics.

“Apple will rebound tremendously but it won’t be enough to catch up with Samsung,” Thomas Kang, director of wireless smartphone strategies, said in a recent report.

“But the new iPhone 4S is a world phone with both GSM and CDMA capability when activated. This will open new doors to Apple especially in Asia.”

The Global System for Mobile Communications and Code Division Multiple Access are two leading third-generation wireless technologies. CDMA dominates in Asia and the U.S. and GSM in Europe.

Samsung overtook Apple as the world’s top smartphone maker in the third quarter, Its shipments jumped a whopping 275 percent year-on-year to 27.3 million units, while Apple’s rose 21 percent to 17.1 million devices.

Kang attributed Apple’s listless performance to a one-month delay in the iPhone 4S’s release, The newest smartphone hit the shelves in mid-October, boasting 4 million preorders in the U.S. alone in what is said to be Apple fans’ tribute to visionary founder Steve Jobs who died on Oct. 5.

“There were many more changes in the highly competitive smartphone market. Several vendors showed negative growth compared to the last quarter. One misstep or delay can cost several million units in just one quarter,” Kang added.

Global smartphone sales reached a fresh high of 120 million units in the three-month period, up 48 percent from a year earlier. But the growth pace is slowing down as the segment becomes mainstream, taking up more than 30 percent of the global mobile phone market, he added.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)