8/13/2012

Android extends dominance in smartphones worldwide


NEW YORK — Research firm IDC said, There were four Android phones for every iPhone shipped in the second quarter, That’s up from a ratio of 2.5 to 1 in the same period last year.
  
The success of Samsung’s Android phones helped Google’s operating system extend its dominance in the smartphone market.
  
Samsung Electronics Co and other phone makers shipped nearly 105 million Android smartphones in the April-June quarter, giving Android 68% of the worldwide market, up from 47% last year.
  
The market share for Apple Inc’s iPhone, powered by its iOS software, fell slightly to 17%, from 19%. But the company shipped more iPhones than a year ago. Apple is the No. 2 smartphone maker, behind Samsung, and is likely to get a boost when it releases its new iPhone model as expected this fall.
  
But in recent years, Google has mounted a serious challenge with Android and benefits from having several manufacturers as partners, including Samsung, HTC Corp and Motorola Mobility, which Google ended up buying this year.
    
Samsung’s Galaxy S III phone received good reviews when it was released late in the second quarter. It also benefits from the company’s strategy of making various devices that target a range of consumers. By contrast, Apple targets only the high-end market with its iPhone.
 
IDC estimates that Samsung shipped 50.2 million smartphones in the quarter, though that includes a few million phones running the Bada system based on Linux. Apple shipped 26 million iPhones.
  
Worldwide smartphone shipments grew 42% to 154 million in the second quarter. Combined, Android and Apple had 85% of the market, up from 66% a year ago.
  
But it’s still possible for rivals to gain share because smartphones represent fewer than 40% of all cellphones shipped in the quarter. However, such efforts will become increasingly difficult as smartphone penetration increases,
  
Microsoft and RIM are both coming out with new versions of their operating systems Windows in October and BlackBerry early next year. The share of Windows phone grew to 3.5%, from 2.3%, in the latest quarter, largely because of its adoption by Nokia. Windows was the fifth-largest phone operating system but was gaining on No. 3 BlackBerry and No. 4 Symbian.

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