Despite economic woes, people are snapping up smartphones at a record pace. Shipments of smartphones worldwide hit a new peak of just under 40 million units in the third quarter of this year, according to the latest estimates from market research firm Canalys.

Smartphones now represent around 13% of the total mobile phone market, up from 11% in the previous quarter.

All but one of the top five smartphone makers increased the number of devices they shipped during the quarter, a couple of them substantially.

Apple Is Up, Nokia Is Down

Naturally, Nokia is still on top of the global smartphone market, a position it has held for many years. However, it’s competitors are cutting into its lead.

It had 39% of the market last quarter, down from 51% in the same quarter of 2007. It was the only one of the top 5 smartphone makers to see a decline in shipments, from 16.0 million in Q3 of 2007 to 15.5 million last quarter, a 3.4% decline.

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