Market research firm Quantcast’s (News - Alert) latest market study on mobile operating systems (OS) shows that Gogle’s Android continues to perform well in this space, taking away market share from competitors like Apple’s iOS and Research in Motion’s (News - Alert) BlackBerry. According to Quantcast, in August Android took share from every corner of the market, putting in its best month share gain since Nov. 2009.
Quantcast data indicates that Android accounts for 25 percent of the mobile OS market
in North America as compared to 56 percent for Apple (News - Alert) iOS and 9 percent for RIM OS. All others accounted for 10 percent of the market share. Consequently, Android’s year-over-year growth has been 18.6 percent.
Last month, as reported in PC World, the global smartphone market grew a healthy 50-percent year over year in the second quarter of 2010 (2Q10), with much of that growth coming from mobile device vendors using Android OS. These results were based on International Data Corporation (IDC)’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker survey,
According to IDC (News - Alert), smartphones will boost the overall mobile phone market by 14 percent in 2010. The overall market in 2009 declined by about three percent due to global recession. Next year, the market research firm predicts that smartphone shipments will increase by 24.5 percent.
Globally, IDC data puts Nokia’s (News - Alert) Symbian in the first place with 40 percent of the global market, while BlackBerry will account for 18 percent and Android at 6%. Apple's iOS will take 15 percent of the market, and Windows Phone 6.8 percent.
IDC’s research predicts growth for Android until 2014, capturing about 25 percent of the mobile OS market by 2014.
Ashok Bindra is a veteran writer and editor with more than 25 years of editorial experience covering RF/wireless technologies, semiconductors and power electronics. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Erin Monda