New figures from technology analysts Canalys show that Android is now the leading mobile operating in the US and in second place worldwide.
According to Canalys, Google’s mobile operating system has grown 1,309% over the past year from 1.4 million handsets in the third quarter of 2009 to 20 million at the end of September this year.
Nokia still holds the top spot worldwide, with a steadily declining 33% share of the global smartphone market, while Android has now claimed 25%. iPhone maker Apple is placed third with 17%, while BlackBerry maker RIM has dropped to fourth with 15%.
In the US, Android leads the market with 43.6%, while Apple has jumped ahead of RIM with 26.2%, knocking it into third place with 24.2%.
Apple, however, is now the single largest smartphone maker in the US that also ships its own hardware. It is important to remember that Android’s newfound dominance is thanks in large part to a bevy of manufacturers, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, who are making phones that span a number of different price points across the market.
David Lawee, vice president of corporate development for Google, was recently quoted as saying that the search giant’s acquisition of Android was its ‘best deal ever’.
The Android operating system, though open source, has proved to be a major driver in mobile marketing as it puts smartphone capabilities into the hands of more and more consumers.
