Android OS sales surge in U.S. over past 6 months

By on Oct 5, 2010 at 1:24 PM
General October 5, 2010

If you’re an Android fan with a complex, and need to be reassured that your smartphone OS doesn’t suck, listen up. The Nielsen Company has just released a study indicating that Android was the most popular smartphone operating system purchased in the U.S. over the past six months. Android gobbled up 32% of new smartphone purchasers, followed by RIM at 26% and Apple at 25%. Android still ranks third in over-all system share with 19%; RIM has 31% and Apple has 28%. Huzzah Android fans! Keep the gloating to a minimum in the comments.

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  • Keymaker

    Apple is the clear winner believe it or not. Apple holds 25% market share and that’s on a single carrier, everyone else is on 4 or more US cell carriers. But yes Apple did shoot it self on the foot by sticking to just At&t. Apple is having problems to meet demand to AT&T customers imagine if they had to worry about 3 more major carriers.

    • Mojo Yugen

      You’re a real “glass is half full” type of a guy, aren’t you?

      • Steve Jobs

        My one device has 25% market share. Their are more android phones, thats why they have higher market……I have the retina display, which is not really made by apple. It’s a lg product. So what ill release a more magical version of iphony, and call it vPhone from verizon. Then i will rule the world……yeah you hear that eric shith

        Jokes apart this is a good news eh!!!!!!

      • Steve Jobs

        anybody has a idea if there is a app for remote desktop for windows on andriod. I could not find one. I dont want to go back to my touch pro 2.

    • http://www.twitter.com/mattstkc MattSTKC

      Single carrier? SINGLE DEVICE. One Single Device holds 25% marketshare over HUNDREDS of Android phones. the Galaxy S Series has the potential to get up there though

      • serpentor

        Jeez, not another one…

      • Jayhammy

        it’s not about the device, man. It’s about the OS. And Android is kicking butt.

      • T100

        I just left Verizon after trying Android…and yes it is about the OS. Apple wins hands down, most of these “fan boys” went from dumb phone to android and its like “the best phone ever”! Going from Iphone to Android, the Apple product is much more refined and smooth, the android feels bloated and is much more processor hungry. If the “OS” was so great, ATT would be selling more Android than Iphone but looking at the numbers its far from it.

      • Elrabin

        The only reason people are on AT&T is for the iPhone.

        Besides, the first few android devices on AT&T were crippled.

        Moto Backflip, HTC Aria.

        Neither could install non-market apps and the backflip didn’t even have google services.

        What Android phone did you supposedly buy? My HTC Incredible has been fast and smooth. Far faster and more responsive than my iTouch and with a better screen as well.

      • Dane

        What Android lacks in refinement, it makes up for in flexibility. Wifi calling, wireless tether/hotspot, true multitasking, and the ability to download competing products to what the device maker/OS maker has put on the phone (a crazy concept, I know… letting the marketplace decide who has the best product).

        You let me know when you can do that without breaking out of your walled garden and pissing off your Apple overlords. Once we’re on equal footing there, I’ll consider the import of “finesse.” Right now, it’s a microscopic speck on the horizon.

        This battle is over. Apple’s like the guy whose head has been severed from his trunk, and the only thing left is the inevitable fall.

      • T100

        The real test is when the first quarter 2011 when the iphone does hit verizon, then let the comparisons fly. The Aria is a good phone as well as the Samsung galaxy S, the the Backflip is bad. The Android phone I bought was the HTC Incredible. Have you seen your amoled Incredible in the sunlight? The battery life is also very very bad. Many people who buy smart phones just want it to work and work smoothly, generally its the techies that want to “jailbreak” or “root” their phones. They don’t care if Apple (who has always been controlling, down to its smallest products) says who or what is allowed on their products. Again, we’ll see once January comes around.

      • …

        no…it just whores itself out to many carriers

  • tijuana’slostson

    Android, w/ phones like the Droid X, Droid 2, the Samsung Galaxy S class, the Droid Incredible, Evo 4G, etc. have more features, and better specs than the iPhone. Even in terms of apps, Android is rising fast. The best part of this, is not even that many of these phones beat the iPhones in terms of specs, but rather, that their rise in marketshare have forced Apple to back down on their more draconian rules for allowing apps into their market. iPhone fans should actually love Android, b/c competition is forcing Steve to back off a bit allowing third party software. As Android rises, you can expect Apple to open up a bit more, enough to satisfy their app developers, or face losing them to Android.

    I have a few friends w/ iPhones, and I have a Droid X. They’re amazed at some of the things I can do w/ my phone that they could never dream off in theirs. I like some things in theirs in terms of the look and feel of apps, and home themes. The good thing for me, is that I can go to the market and easily download a home replacement app like ADW or LauncherPro and make my phone act & look the way I want, without having to root or jailbreak!

    One of the best things recently, was giving a friend w/ an iPhone and iPad wifi using my Droid X. I was like, you don’t have a wifi mobile hotspot? LOL

    • alex

      great you got home themes over an iphone, wow…too bad the 2.2d update broke exchange on the DROID so users had to download and pay for Touchdown…I really don’t see the value Android is a tier better than my old WinMo 6.5 phone…I will stick my Pre+ until the iPhone appears or new Palm hardware….and maybe even give Metro UI a chance..

      • tijuana’slostson

        Um, Exchange works on my phone, I think that only affects a few users. To boot, Motorola gave out free Touchdown licenses as a temporary fix, and they’re already working on a fix for the issues 2.2 brought.

      • MicroNix

        Moto gave you a free license for Touchdown (I believe $29) for a software issue that they’ll fix. Steve gave iPhone users a $0.99 piece of rubber for a hardware issue they can’t fix. Yeah, I think I’d stick with Moto too!

      • tijuana’slostson

        I also notice how you forgot to include the mobile hotspot in the things the Droid X has over the iPhone. How about flash, so I don’t have to pay $1.99 per episode of most shows, but can just go to their websites to see the episodes I want. More, um, let’s see, Google maps w/ free Navigation, a Google made Google Voice app.

        The only thing my X is really missing is a front facing camera, and not really, since I really have no use for one at this time.

      • destardi

        Don’t forget HDMI out, and a screen that lets you actually see the games you’re playing.

        Droid X.

    • Norm

      Ok. DROID AND VZW FTW! But the iphone 4 camera and screen pwn each of those phones you listed. At least try to be objective.

      • tijuana’slostson

        Really? The Evo has a front-facing camera and a bigger screen than the iPhone.

      • Norm

        Do you only read the higer numbers? IMPLEMENTATION is key.

      • destardi

        …you mean like the implementation of a BRAND NEW, WOW! DESIGN of an external antenna that attentuates just by touching it?

        Don’t tell me it’s not an issue, there are 2 guys here at work that have problems with it. And instead of taking responsibility, Apple tries to say “other phones do it tooooooo”.

        No, my Droid X does not.

        I mean seriously; you don’t brag about something and then find it’s the worst thing about your product…what a bunch of dummies.

      • PejHod

        I think he meant the resolution of the screen, iPhone 4 is 640-by-960 at 326 ppi, while Evo is 480-by-800 at 216.97 ppi

      • MicroNix

        The iPhone camera/camcorder/cam software is definitely a HUGE plus for the iPhone. I can’t for the life of me understand why it is taking anyone so long to figure out how to do that with Android (though the 14mp slim camera/phone coming out looks like that will finally be addressed). I’d pay an extra $50 for a phone that can also replace my camera. I just don’t really care enough for the iPhone to get a decent camera/phone at this time. Besides that feature though, I’d take an EVO over iPhone any day given the choice between the two.

    • …

      they do…just gotta pay…but why pay when i can sit next to you… :)

  • LemonadeJoe

    Too bad Android is competing against the iPad and Touch too – Not just the iPhone.

    • sadfsdafa

      You mean too bad for Apple? r-tard.

    • MicroNix

      The article is about smartphones genius.

  • Aaron

    In Canada, the situation is much different. With only one carrier currently offering any Android phone worth getting (Galaxy S, Vibrant), it’s no wonder that most people are going iOS or BB. Even I am considering going that route simply because my carrier is taking forever to get a decent Android device. Horrible selection.

    • Mark L

      Staying informed is key here bud. In Canada you’ve also got the HTC Desire, Milestone, Galaxy S Captivate in a week, X10, Liquid E – and those are only the higher end phones, canvassing most of the carriers in Canada.

      Just because only YOU think one is ‘worth’ getting, doesn’t mean everybody else does. In fact, the HTC Desire is rated much higher than the Galaxy S on a lot of tech blogs.

  • Steve

    Shouldn’t the Apple line be at the bottom? Last time I checked, 26 was a higher number than 25.

    • nic

      he is right, rim sold more phones than apple?

    • http://www.twitter.com/mattstkc MattSTKC

      the line is at the bottom the label is above.

      • Steve

        Try again!

  • bringit

    There are a couple issues here. One is growth and total # of users. Clearly Android OS is exploding. The other issue is – which OS (combined with the hardware) is superior. Number of sales and number of users does not necessarily = better. I am not saying one is better than the other. At this point, it’s subjective. But I am less concerned with how many two for one’s and 1 cent Android phones are activated – than which phone is a better experience, and of better quality.

  • buzzard

    funny story Sunday. my brother in town with his wife who works for vzw. he has droid x I have iPhone 4. we are at our parents both watching direct tv Sunday ticket on our phones. he grabs mine and asks his wife why the game looks better on mine. she claims Att must have better signal in the are we are at… he tells her not the streaming jerky stuff the picture looks like our hd tv!!! she was pissed she is a vzw regional manager and goes on to slam the iPhone at the dinner table in a sales pitch to the family!! my brother replied the game just looks better on the iPhone I want one… they may be headed for divorce court now

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

    • buzzard’sbrain

      Never tried Sunday Ticket, but streaming most shows on my Droid X is awesome. I hardly experience any streaming issues, esp at home or when I’m near a wifi connection. As for the iPhone having a clearer picture, I’ll take your word for it. My friend has an iPhone 4 and she’s on her third one, as the first two couldn’t make a damn call thanks to the antenna issue.

      • …

        i call bullshit..

    • MicroNix

      Its all about where you are. At my home AT&T only gets edge while Verizon is 3G. Care to do the NFL ticket here and see what the net results are? I am willing to bet you will get better VZW results over AT&T at more places around the country.

    • V for Ve

      Yeah,
      That took you about 5 minutes to make up.

  • AM

    Wish more phones had stock android. How sweet would it be if we get a solid 4.3 inch screen having, htc made, stock android phone! (Here’s to being patient… Or getting the G2 again). ;)

    • Mrwirez

      BINGO… Just a clean Android phone without all the crapware and layers.. Surely HTC and Motorola are not not blind to this … Are they??

  • Max

    Well well well…you Blackberry MORONS are getting left behind. Sure, you’re phone is fine for you. Sure, it does everything you want in a phone. But ya know something? Most people ain’t like you. They want a phone that can really be a useful tool that is used for more than stupid BB Messenger or Brickbreaker. You technophobes are quickly becoming the Beanie Baby of the smartphone world.

    • Max Amillion

      Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Damn blackberry only “does everything you want in a phone”. You are correct in that most blackberry users are not morons and that they want “a useful tool”.

  • So Official

    This shows that having a blackberry is becoming more exclusive.

    • officiallyso

      Meh. Blackberries may be fine for some people, but I want to be able to do as much as I can with a phone, if I’m going to pay $200 w/ a 2 yr contract for one. Current BBS really don’t allow for much, apart from very basic stuff, and things that won’t tax what are now considered, entry level phone processors. Even their flagship phones, like the Torch have suboptimal hardware. Most people I know, if they ask about smartphones, usually start w/ anything but Blackberry. It’s reminiscent of the “anything but Windows Mobile” a few years back, when WinMo was still top dog.

      I wish Blackberry releases QNX based Blackberries soon, because that would go a long way to restore the brand. So far, they just keep releasing 2 yr old phones in different colors, and calling them bleeding edge.

  • Macboy

    Wow I didnt realize there was that much of a demand for a choppy,laggy garbage os like android. Umm

  • cellphoneguy

    apples dominance is ridiculous. they make the most user friendly smart phone available android has some great features blackberry is stable and secure but apple just does it right antenna issues and all they still dominate the market. once it hits other carriers I see android share taking a huge hit. plus apple never sells their devices buy one get one.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

    • MicroNix

      So this includes August. Where is the HUGE SURGE of iOS when the iPhone 4 was released? So Android even sustains the lead over the big iPhone launch that all the Apple fanboys said was the reason Apple was sucking it up to June while people waited? Come on Apple boys, where’s the big surge?

      • At&t Enthusiast

        not an apple fanboy at all, own all 3 os soon to have windows 7 as well…….

        but my 2pennis are as follows.

        tmobile offers 4 android models, sprint offers 4 or 5, VZW offers 5 or 6, att offers 4. thats at least 16 different devices vs 3 different iphone variants on 1 carrier, cellphoneguy is correct in saying that iphones are never BOGO. Fandroids need to admit there are more opportunities and apple fanboys need to giove droid credibility. Personally I feel like my WinMo phones were similar to my android device minus computing power and high quality web browser. i coould customize my win mo device quite nicely. My iphone has engineering issues for voice quality and needs adifferent form factor.

      • Hmmm.

        You have 2 pennis?

      • Drew

        Hypocrites, hypocrites… Android will stop offering BOGO when Apple stops including iPod and iPad registers in their iOS sales numbers… It is so hard to just include how many phones you sold?? “Snow” Jobs at his finest…

    • V for Ve

      Apple dominates the market because they had a 2 year head start.
      It will be interesting to see how the battle is going in Europe and Asia where iPhone is not tied to a single carrier.

  • Chris

    I like how iOS and Android curves share an almost precisely inverse relationship on this graph. It’s like looking in a mirror eh Stevo?

  • JoeBold

    Hey Andrew, how much longer do you think Android will jump from its current 19% share to reach Apples 28% , hu??? Not too long, considering the platform is here in earnest since last december.
    Pretty soon, your sarcastic headline will read something like this “apples is still at 19%, while Android reigns at 31, so Apple fans don’t gloat, and Android fans keep your gloating to a minimum,……

    P.s. an incredible owner who’s loving it. But I still can’t see myself ditching the BB. With their email and group features that keeps consumers hostage ……….

  • pc

    Here’s a better question — who gives a shit? If you’re happy with your Android, isn’t that enough? Why do you need to prove that it’s better than other phones? And just because something is more popular doesn’t make it better (just compare ticket sales on Fight Club and Transformers). Windows is still more popular than MacOSX, but I wouldn’t use a Windows computer for anything other than batting practice.

    I’ve never used an Android phone so I don’t know how it compares. And frankly, I really don’t care if it’s better, worse or the same as the iPhone. I’ve got my iPhone and I’m happy with it.

    • V for Ve

      So why are you commenting on a story which is comparing the two?

      Now get off the web and play Angry Birds.

    • blackscreen

      “Windows is still more popular than MacOSX, but I wouldn’t use a Windows computer for anything other than batting practice.”

      All you’d be pounding is the same stuff that runs your precious little Mac. You do realize that your Mac and a Windows PC have had the same hardware since 2006? Perhaps you should just keep playing with your toys and leave the big boy stuff to the rest of us…

  • wanderer

    I’m going to act like a fandroid and dispute this article and say its flawed the way fandroids never believe anything positive with apple. Seriously, android remains a great alternative to iphone’s iOS, but the iphone still has the most smooth polished OS, so I’m sticking with the iphone based on that and not marketshare.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

  • bnicka

    July to Aug jump probably mostly due to AT&T getting and Galaxy S.

  • V for Ve

    That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. But the stats here show people’s choices in the entire country.
    You have made your choice and you are accounted for in the descending iOS curve.

  • Steve Jobs

    As an Apple fan, i must say i’m pretty sick of my iphone.
    i’m selling this shit and getting an iPod touch 4G for games and HTC with android for calls.
    Android all the way!

  • dlmnk

    Evo has 1.3mp front cam and works on 4G when its available..iphone 4 has 0.3 frontcam..ONLY works on 3G

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