Sunday, September 16, 2012

Android captures nearly 50% of global smartphone market


The platform has been making big strides during the past year, overtaking Symbian in Q4 of 2010 to become the top smartphone platform, representing a 32.9% market share at that time.Smartphone adoption continues to grow rapidly across the world, reaching a total of 107.7 million units shipped in Q2 of 2011, a 73% year-on-year growth.
Android was the biggest driver of smartphone shipments in Q2, as Android-based smartphone shipments were up 379% year-over-year, coming in at 51.9 million total units shipped. The report cites successful Android-based products from vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei, as a catalyst for the platform's growth.
Apple also fared well, with iOS overtaking Nokia's Symbian platform to rise from third to second place. A total of 20.3 million iPhones were shipped and Apple raked in a market share of 19%. Apple also became the world's leading individual smartphone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position.

Samsung also passed Nokia, which has faced a rapid decline in demand across many markets. However, Nokia is still holding strong at number one in emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India and China.