One in three smartphones sold in the United States runs on Google's Android software.The US is easily the most developed market for Android phones. Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung, LG, HTC and others have had handsets on the market for more than a year -
One in three smartphones sold in the United States runs on Google's Android software.
The US is easily the most developed market for Android phones. Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung, LG, HTC and others have had handsets on the market for more than a year - although only in force for around nine months.
As such, it probably provides a pointer for how Android phones will fare in other countries.
Google will hope so.
Last month, a shock survey from NPD showed Android phones outselling iPhone the smart-phone segment.
Although NPD is a respected market tracker, many commentators were a little dubious.
Put a second NPD survey, released today, shows Android phones blowing away all comers for the second quarter - staying ahead of iPhone and dethroning RIM’s BlackBerry - the reigning smartphone champ since the fourth quarter of 2007.
Specifically NPD's latest wireless market research reveals that Android accounted for 33% of all smartphones purchased in the second quarter, ahead of BlackBerry maker RIM (28%) and Apple (22%).
More, NPD’s findings are now being backed up by other surveys.
A Canalys report released earlier this week said that for the second quarter sales of phones based on Google's Android software were up nearly 900% from a year ago, claiming 34% of the market in the United States.
Canalys put RIM on 32%, Apple on 21.7%.
A year ago, RIM.’s share of the US market was 45%.
A third study, released Monday by Nielsen, found similar trends, with a declining BlackBerry nabbing 33% of new sign-ups over the past six months; Android-based phones 27% and iPhone 23%.
iPhone has the glam appeal and the cult following, but as in New Zealand, it's expensive, has a single official carrier (that is, who can offer a handset subsidy). Androids, by contrast, appear at all price-points, and are being pushed by every phone company.
Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees have all been jumping on the Android bandwagon over the past couple of months, releasing multiple models.
The most promising Android in Telecom's line-up, the Motorola Milestone, finally made an appearance yesterday. Read more about it here.
