While I always tend to take all these user numbers with a grain of salt, the latest ComScore results are rather interesting and certainly worth noting. For the first time, Android has surpassed Research In Motion as well as Apple within the ComScore ranking period of the past three-months ending in January 2011. As noted by ComScore:
65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period. Google Android captured the #1 ranking among smartphone platforms for the first time in January with 31.2 percent market share. RIM ranked second with 30.4 percent market share, followed by Apple with 24.7 percent. Microsoft (8.0 percent) and Palm (3.2 percent) rounded out the top five.
While interesting to see, it's not really surprising in anyway. Android continues to grow and as more manufacturers step up to make use of Google platform a slow down in market growth doesn't appear to be in sight. While I personally shed a tear for BlackBerry, Research In Motion is in a transition period and will be for quite some time. This is an Android and Apple time now, with Microsoft working their way back into relevancy. [ComScore]
Reader comments
Android edges out BlackBerry and iPhone in recent ComScore survey
Go Android! This news and Grindr in the market on the same day!
It seems to me that Blackberry needs to Run a Proprietary skin on Android and call it a day. I really liked Blackberry, but people that think updates on Android are crazy should try Blackberry. You relly need to be into leaked builds and basically running your own update cycle. Hmm, sounds a little familiar.
Since when is less competition a good thing? Instead of being an Android fanboi, hope that RIM does better and keeps Google innovating instead. Besides, RIM has their much better QNX (WebOS ripoff) system coming.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/who-is-winning-the-u-s...
Of course you have to take these numbers with a grain of salt, especially when other organizations are reporting slightly different numbers. But hey, it all points to one thing: Android is taking over! :D
>"working there way back into relevancy."
Correct word is "their" (group possessive), not "there" (a location).
I was going to say the same thing, BUTT, since you said it first I'll just mention another small error in grammEr - the statement, "While interesting to see, it's not really surprising in anyway" should read as follows, "not really surprising in ANY WAY".
Is it Geez or jeez ANYWAY, I remember my Business English classes from 30 YEARS AGO and how I hated being corrected by the teachers back then!
site >> sight
Android for life!!!!
"with Microsoft working there way back into relevancy"
Recent reports say they paid $1 billion for that.
One thing to note though -- this survey ends before VZW picked up the iPhone. The really interesting numbers will be when it starts to include the time period that includes the iPhone on both carriers.
iPhone sales were very lackluster after the first day of presales.
Could I ask what you're basing that on? VZW CEO Dan Mead talked about the iPhone being the largest retail launch the company has ever seen and told Reuters "When I look over the last three weeks or so it (sold) much more than we've seen in any previous device."
Of course I would take statements like that with a grain of salt, but VZW has also continued to give guidance that they will sell about 11 million iPhones this year (for comparison's sake AT&T sold about 14 million iPhones over the course of a year in 2010). Telling the media that things are rosy is one thing, but I would be pretty surprised if VZW would give guidance to the street that's way off base. We'll have to wait for official numbers in the next earning report though.
The number of iphones that vzw sells won't tell the full story. A lot of their iphone sales may be current att iphone customers and will not go towards a net gain in the "I didn't know any better so I bought an iphone and now I look cool" population (the ones I know hold it high when they use it, always put it out on the table for everyone to see in meetings, and claim it is the greatest electronics device ever conceived but can't tell you what it can do that other devices can't do... C'mon you know what I'm talking about)
Oh, you're absolutely right. But it will tell a full*er* story of where the various OSs line up.
I think the craziest number here is the Microsoft drop from 9.7% to 8.0%. Didn't they release Windows Phone 7 in September? This means that they actually LOST customers once upgrading from WM 6.5 to WP7. Wow.
The Android army is on the march!
oh o... I think windows is catching up to us...
How comes no one ever mentions that fact that there are many many models of both RIM and Android, but really only 2 models of iphones?
still more sold..
Nobody mentioned it because it is irrelevant. There are only 2 models of iPhone's available because of Apple's own choice. They should not penalize/handicap other companies because they did not choose the same approach...
What they're looking at is the platform people are using, not the devices themselves.
It's not our fault that Apple is too lazy to make different models of the iPhone. That is one smart move of Android to create a plethora of different android models.
I think we all know this already.. As the only reason I have an Android is there has not been a real new BB in almost two years now... I love my BB but I am slowly drifting away entirely as I have lost hope for something truly new and Android keeps getting better and better...
Look at all the sheep buying Android!
In my experience, there are an equal number of "sheep" buying Android devices as there are buying iPhones, if not fewer. A huge component of Apple's success ever since the release of the iPod comes in the form of Apple products being trendy. Very few of the people that I know who have iPhones have specific, valid reasons for owning one. As I said, however, the same case can be made for both sides -- I have a lot of friends who have Android phones that don't have any good reason for it either. It goes both ways.
I'm with you on that. When I asked my friend why he got the iPhone 4, he said: cuz it's the iPhone. Honestly, I see the iPhone as a fashion statement rather than a piece of technology. I mean seriously, what can the iPhone do that android can't?
How many were given away with buy 1 get 2 free and soon to be buy one get free?
"with Microsoft working there way back into relevancy"
LOL, what?
Microsoft's market-share for their garbage cellphone OS continues to plummet quarter after quarter.
If you give away phones you gain market share and the OEMs love it cuz they sell more to the carrier. The carriers love it cuz they gain customers.
There's nothing wrong with good business models. USA #1!
Giving away a phone that is attached to a $1,000+ contract is not giving away a phone. Total Cost of Ownership is the only thing that matters. In the UK you can get an iPhone "Free" on contract and people are still increasingly choosing alternatives. iPhone monthly contract rates, for comparable services, are usually higher to account for the cut that Apple usually take.
Budget Android phones will continue to be and are the reason why an ordinary consumer won't pick an Apple "Smartphone" over an Android "Smartphone". I see lots of young kids with HTC Wildfire and lots of people in 20s and 30s with HTC Desire and Galaxy S. Why? It's cheaper that's why. You also have a variety of models unlike the iPhone, buck the trend?