Archives for April, 2011
are now officially the best selling mobiles in the world with the lion’s share of the smartphone market, according to .
Android sales have risen by an incredible 810 per cent in the past 12 months as in February 2010 the market share of Google’s smartphone platform was just 6.6 per cent.
By February 2011 it has been calculated that Android phone handsets account for 34.1 per cent of the smartphone market. The smartphone boom has also been noted, with 48.7 per cent of all phones sold in February falling into this category.
Most significantly the smartphone sales are even higher when you look only at handsets bundled with a pay monthly contract, where 83.1 per cent of the market is attributable to these multifunctional mobile phones.
The global market, which has shown Android mobile phones come to dominate in the smartphone sector, is reflected by the US market. Here in early 2011 it was noted that Android mobile models overtook both Research in Motion with its BlackBerry smartphones and Apple with its iPhone range.
Both Apple and RIM held on to 27 per cent of the market apiece, but Android phone sales took 29 per cent, according to figures published by analysts at Nielsen.
It is worth noting that whilst Android as a platform has overtaken its major rivals, which is certainly a milestone in the smartphone industry, there is still a difference between Android and other smartphone platforms. Notably both Apple and RIM only make a handful of models whilst everyone from HTC to Samsung and Motorola build Android phone handsets for public consumption.
Android phone handsets are available to consumers on any budget, with basic handsets providing for the sector whilst top of the line models such as the will only appeal to those who can handle a hefty monthly bill.
As such the iPhone and BlackBerry ranges are still a tighter, more focused and successful product family, but the versatility and open-ended nature of Android is allowing more and more users to experience smartphone functionality without the associated costs of alternatives.