Who are the top mobile device manufacturers in Western Europe? You may be surprised.

You’ve got Samsung, Apple, and everyone else. No matter where you go, Samsung and Apple dominate the smartphone landscape. In Western Europe, there is a new challenger to the throne, and it’s one we’re happy to have.

Sony shipped the third most mobile devices during the first quarter of 2013. They moved 3.2 million handhelds, which puts them in third place. Samsung shipped a daunting 14.3 million units, and Apple checked in with 6.2 million iPhones distributed.

While 3.2 million devices puts them in distant third, we’d like to consider their place in the smartphone market last year. This time last year, they were next to oblivion, teetering on mobile extinction. A renewed focus and dedication to their craft gave us the Xperia line, and the upcoming Xperia Z Ultra is a nice piece of hardware.

Another surprise may be LG, who shipped 2.4 million devices. If you look at sales this time last year for both Sony and LG, they have doubled up or better; moving 1.6 and 0.5 million units, respectively. HTCdidn’t crack the top 5, instead being relegated to “other” along with the other smaller players in Western Europe.

As for market share, Samsung commands the landscape with 45%. Apple gets 20%, and Sony commands about 10%. That’s nearly double for Sony, but Apple shipped less units versus Q1 2012, and gave up about 5% market share. The only ones who were down this year versus last were Apple, Nokia, and the “others”–all posting double-digit differences.

The really interesting tidbit to take away might be Nokia, who shipped nearly one million less handsets. In Q1 2012 they sent 2.3 million units, and only 1.6 million this quarter. At least in Western Europe, their dedication to Windows phone seems to be working out for everyone else involved.