Apple was the top smartphone seller in Q4 last year, according to Strategy Analysts. But the company can’t be smug just like that.

Samsung is so close to bringing Apple down, probably in the first quarter of 2012 itself, to regain its top spot. Scott Bicheno, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics said that there is a good chance Samsung will regain its top spot in the first quarter this year.

We expect to see the smartphone number one spot being occupied by either Samsung or Apple for a few more quarters, he said. Furthermore, the fact that Samsung got so close to Apple in what was an exceptional quarter for iPhone sales suggests that Samsung has a strong chance of retaking the crown in Q1 2012.

In Q4 2011, Apple edged out Samsung by 500,000 units with 37m units shipped, on its way to the top spot. Now, Samsung is proving to be a super-strong competitor for Apple, in a market where LG, Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson suffered.

Nokia’s shipment stood at 19.6m in the last quarter, down almost 9m from the same period last year. About the law suits between the companies, Bicheno said there has been little evidence of the lawsuits affecting retail sales, as their latest smartphone figures imply.

So far the impact of any minor legal defeats has been minimal and we haven’t seen the kinds of blanket sales bans litigants have been aiming for. That could change at any time, of course, and the only thing that does seem certain is that it will be another busy year for the patent lawyers, said Bicheno.

Okay, so lawsuits have little impact on overall sales. Would manufacturers stop waging patent wars no? Not likely.