(Telecompaper) Some 52 million mobile phones were shipped in the US in the fourth quarter of 2012, 4 percent more than 50.2 million units in the year-earlier period, according to Strategy Analytics. The growth comes after a 16 percent contraction in the first nine months. Full-year shipments fell by 11 percent to 166.9 million units in 2012 from 186.6 million in 2011. Apple become the biggest vendor of mobile phones in the US for the first time, selling an estimated 17.7 million units in the fourth quarter, for a 34 percent market share. This compares to 12.8 million units and a 25 percent share in Q4 2011. Samsung sold 16.8 million phones for a 32.3 percent share in Q4 2012 compared to 13.5 million phones and a 26.9 percent share in Q4 2011. LG sold 4.7 million units for a 9 percent share in Q4 2012, versus 6.9 million and 13.7 percent in Q4 2011. Samsung was the top phone vendor for all of 2012, taking a 53 percent share, ahead of Apple's 43.7 percent and LG's 20.5 percent. In 2012, LG lost market share as it struggled to compete with its bigger rivals in the high-growth smartphone category, but will fight back this year with models such as the Optimus G LTE Android phone, said Linda Sui, analyst at Strategy Analytics.