Android continues to overtake iOS in the smartphone market

Google and Apple continue to battle it out for mobile operating system dominance and according to The Nielsen Company that battle is now neck-and-neck. From July 2010 through September 2010, those who planned on getting a new smartphone in the next year were surveyed. It found that 33% were looking to get an iOS smartphone compared to 26% of those who wanted Android. The latest numbers, covering January 2011 to March 2011,  now show that Apple’s iOS share has eroded to  just 30% allowing Android to take the lead with 31%.

It seems the biggest opportunity for growth for both Google and Apple may come from those people in the “not sure” column. The number of customers who are still undecided about what smartphone to buy based on operating system has actually gone up from the previous period. The 2% increase means that now 20% of those surveyed are unsure what type of smartphone they should buy. Like a presidential election, if Google or Apple can get the undecided folks into their camp they will take a big lead. Unfortunately, as Nielsen points out, consumers are fickle which may make it hard for either company to gain ground with those unsure of what kind of smartphone they should buy.

If the last six months of smartphone purchases are any indication, Android is winning so far. For March, Android powered 50% of the smartphones acquired compared to only 25% for Apple iOS and 15% for the BlackBerry. When it comes to actual smartphone market share, which includes all current smartphone users, Android has a double digit lead at 37% over Apple iOS which is sitting at 27%. RIM’s BlackBerry OS is showing a close third at 22%, but BlackBerry market share may run the risk of declining since only 11% of those who were looking at getting a smartphone within the next year said they were considering a BlackBerry.  That’s a 2% drop from the previous period.

Read more at Nielsen

Brian’s Opinion

If you talk to some people, the Android versus iOS battle is shaping up to be the mobile version of what the PC versus Mac battle was for computers. Fanning the flames of discontent between the two camps is the fact that Android is an open platform while Apple’s iOS is propretary. That leads to some strong opinions from those who prefer one operating system over the other.

Apple’s only hope of catching Android is to make the iPhone available on more carriers. Adding the Verizon Wireless network in February was a good start, but they’ll need a lot more if they hope to eat any of the market gains made by Android. Honestly though, that’s not Apple’s style. Apple likes to keep a lot of control over the iPhone which many carriers don’t like. In the end, Apple may be content to stay at #2 if it means they can keep greater control of their smartphone and operating system. There are signs further expansion is going to happen, though, possibly to include T-Mobile USA. 

This info is all about the states, but I do believe that the picture is totally different in the rest of the world like we got Droids all over especially with Chinese phones like Huaewi Idios in Kenya...