The cell phone manufacturer contest shows virtually no sign of abating as a Samsung insider boasts that the company shipped more phones than Nokia or Apple throughout the last quarter.

Apple has revealed that it sold 17.1 million iPhones in its quarter that ended in September, while Nokia claims to have shipped a mere 16.8 million smart phones.

Apple’s iPhone 4S is on sale and selling well (4 million sold in the initial weekend), and even the rarely-humble Apple conceded that iPhone sales dropped off towards the tail end of the quarter as the public awaited the brand new handset.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is set to find its way to retailers in early November and, with the flagship Android 4.0 handset, it’s likely to do extremely well through the run up to Christmas.

Nokia is set to unveil the very first round of its Windows Phone smart phones at Nokia World in the near future and no one really knows how well they’ll be received.