Report: Smartphone Market Tilting Toward Android

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nielsen_smartphone_chart

Google’s Android smartphone OS now has a double-digit lead on Apple, according to a new survey released Tuesday morning. Android is used by 37 percent of smartphone users, compared to the iPhone, owned by 27 percent of smartphone users, found a March survey by measurement firm Nielsen.

The findings illustrate a dramatic change in consumer attitudes since October 2010. In that survey, the iPhone lead with 27.9 percent of smartphone owners, just edging out the BlackBerry’s 27.4 percent. Android was No. 3 with 22.7 percent. Now, Android is No. 1, Apple No. 2 and BlackBerry is No. 3, with 22 percent of the market.


The results mirror an earlier IDC survey which predicted Android would control just under 50 percent of the smartphone market by 2015 and Apple’s iOS slipping to 15.7 percent.

Perhaps more disturbing, the number of people expressing plans to purchase an Android smartphone is growing while that desire is falling among consumers considering Apple. Nielsen found 31.1 percent of those surveyed in March planned to buy an Android handset, up from 25.5 percent in late 2010. (Half of those surveyed said they purchased an Android-based smartphone in the last six months, according to Nielsen.) By comparison, 30 percent of consumers surveyed said they will buy an iOS-based smartphone, down from 32.7 percent.

[All Things Digital]

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