Nokia has been bumped off the top spot as the world's largest mobile phone company after 14 years at the peak, according to research, Belfast Telegraph reported.

Samsung sold 86.6 million mobile phones in the first quarter, inching past Nokia's sales of more than 83 million units, technology research firm Gartner said.

Apple sold 33 million iPhones, with a global market share of 8%.

Gartner and another research firm, Strategy Analytics, also rated Nokia in third place in terms of smartphone sales, behind Samsung and the iPhone.