Android sales surpass iPhone for the first time
By Alexis • May 12th, 2010 • Category: Industry News
- Photo: HTC
Boom! The collective recent sales of all Google Android mobile OS phones exceed those of the iPhone in the US for the first time ever.
Market research firm NPD’s latest consumer research (excluding enterprise users, where RIM and WinMo are notoriously strong) shows RIM is still outperforming the rest with Blackberry accounting for 36 per cent market share. Android OS powered phones – made most prominently by Motorola, HTC, Samsung and LG – account for 28 per cent market share and Apple’s iPhone accounts for a very respectable 21 per cent market share in the US.
Windows Mobile phones continue to crater in the smartphone market share battle, now accounting for a needle above 10 per cent market share.
The world’s changing, fast
- Photo: Apple
Considering the iPhone and Android have only been around since 2007 and 2008 respectively, those figures are quite amazing. What’s even more impressive is a mere 12 months ago, RIM accounted for nearly half of all smartphones in the US with market share at 46 per cent, Windows Mobile’s share at 12 per cent and Apple at 19 per cent. For those keeping count, that is down 10 per cent for the BlackBerry, down 2 per cent for Microsoft and up 2 per cent for Apple.
Want to know the really big deal? The Google Android mobile OS was sitting at a mere 6 per cent at the time, meaning the platform grew a dizzying 22 per cent in just one year!
The Race
Much of the Google Android success is attributable to HTC, whose recent lineup has been nothing but hit after hit along with accelerating sales in North America. Apple, in trying to slow these advances, have sued HTC in a suit many believe is targeted at Google. Now, with the shoe being on the other foot, Apple itself is in a lawsuit (and counter-suit) with Nokia, over patent infringements in the iPhone and iPad both.
And the real winner? Consumers. With standardised mobile OS platforms comes greatly improved performance and platforms for great software to be developed and deployed, meaning our smartphones get better over time without us necessarily needing to upgrade.
Tags for this article: apple iphone, blackberry, google android, mobile OS
