"The affordable price point has kept the Samsung Galaxy S3 at the top of the tree, but whether it will be at the top of the Christmas tree remains to be seen," according to uSwitch tech expert Ernest Doku.

The hugely popular S3 has been trumping the once dominant iPhone for seven consecutive months this year, uSwitch reported, but it is highly likely that a different story will emerge once the Christmas shopping spree is over.

"As for the Christmas number one, the Apple brand could well reign supreme and see the iPhone 4S take over in the final straight as the gift of choice for consumers," Mr Doku told uSwitch.com.

You read it right. Apple's iPhone 4S is touted for the number one spot this December mainly due to price cuts imposed on the year-old handset, which also was extended to the fresher version iPhone 5.

But the 4S offered more discounts, as expected, so it occupied the spot next to the S3, further pushing the iPhone 5 to the third seat, highlighting the earlier report by research firm Strategic Analytics that the flagship Samsung handset has become the bestselling smartphone in the world as of Q3 2012.

The S3 has been scooped by more than 30 million buyers worldwide since its May 2012 debut, headlining the slew of Galaxy lines that propelled Samsung as the largest smartphone maker in the past five quarters.

The armada of Galaxy handsets that joined the S3 in the uSwitch mobile tracking include the S2, which has maintained considerable consumer appeal despite its 2011 release, at number four, the Galaxy Ace at number six, the surprise Samsung hit Galaxy Note 2 at seven and the Galaxy Ace 2 at 10.

Android devices completed the elite circle, with Sony's Xperia U, at eighth spot, as the only holdover from the previous tracking while two new devices - LG's Nexus 4 and HTC's One X+ - captured the fourth and ninth spot respectively.

Nexus 4 joining the club so early was not a surprise at all, analysts said, and Google's continuing struggle of meeting the heavy global demand for the handset is the solid testament that the powerful but affordable gadget has enraptured hordes of consumers in so short a time.