For all intents and purposes mobile phone giant Nokia claims the largest market share across the globe, but that doesn’t mean Nokia is the most profitable in the business as according to an article over on telephony online, iPhone giant, Apple has now snatched the crown as the world’s most profitable vendor in Q3 of 2009.

Apparently the iPhone pushed Nokia out of the top slot and into second place as Nokia margins are hit hard by a dormant presence in the United States and the recession.

The figures by Strategic Analytics estimate iPhone operating profit for Q3 was at $1.6 billion while Nokia apparently posted only $1.1 billion operating profit. Analyst Alex Spektor has said that Apple with tight cost controls, high wholesale prices and strong volumes has over the past 2 years successfully broken into the mobile phone market.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Nokia as they did manage to hold 37.9 percent market share and actually ship 16.4 million units in Q3.