There was a lot of talk earlier this week about an NPD report that put Apple’s iPhone OS behind Google’s Android in terms of market share. However, a new report by market research firm Gartner says Apple is winning the race. The IDC report places the iPhone OS in third place with 15.4 percent market share in the first quarter of 2010. This is up from the same period last year where Apple had a 10.5 percent market share.

Google’s Android grew from a 1.6 percent market share in 2009 to 9.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010.

Nokia’s Symbian OS and RIM were number 1 and 2 with 44.3 percent and 19.4 percent market share, respectively.

“To compete in such a crowded market, manufacturers need to tightly integrate hardware, user interface, and cloud and social networking services if their solutions are to appeal to users,” Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

Update: Clarified that the new report came from Gartner, not IDC. 7:49 am