Android smartphone share passes 50% - Nielsen
PLUS: How the Andorid share breaks down: Samsung vs HTC.
PLUS: How the Andorid share breaks down: Samsung vs HTC.
Android's share of the US smartphone market has passed the 50% mark, Nielsen says.
Handsets based on Android software (made by Google) account for 51.8% of all smartphone owners, and 54.6% of purchases in the past three months.
The finding is in line with an earlier survey by ComScore, which also found Android had secured half the market.
Analysts credit strong sales of high-end Android phones like Samsung's Galaxy range and HTC's One X - but, more, a swarm of low-cost Androids.
Within the Android camp, Samsung has the greatest market share, followed by Taiwan's HTC (which also makes budget house-brands for phone companies) and recent Google acquisition Motorola.
The losers are RIM's BlackBerry, which continues to fall away, and the Nokia-backed, Microsoft Windows Phone platform, which has yet to gain serious traction. Yesterday, Nokia halved the price of its flagship Lumia 900 smartphone.
Click to enlarge.
IDC has tracked similar Android vs iPhone smartphone market share in NZ.
The tablet market remains a different story, with Apple's iPad given 60%+ share worldwide, and in NZ.