Portrait of a smartphone brand on the rise
Android apps recently hit the 3 billion download mark, not only because 57% of Android apps are free compared to only 28% of Apple apps, but because of the increasing sales of devices using the Android operating system (OS).
Our research shows that in the first quarter of 2011, 33% of our readers had Android phones while 29% had iPhones and it is beingsaid that by 2012, Android will own 50% of all of the smartphone market.
ABI Research reports that Android represented 46.4% of the 103 million smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2011 across the globe. The report notes that 34% of all of Androids being shipped are from Samsung like the popular Samsung Droid and Samsung Captivate.
HTC accounted for 23% of all Android shipments with the future of HTC shifting rapidly with rumors that the HTC EVO 4G will no longer be sold at Sprint, meanwhile the HTC EVO with 3D has hit shelves.
Who has the most to lose? ABI Research Senior Analyst Michael Morgan said in the report, “Although Apple’s 142% YoY growth placed it as number one this quarter, Samsung’s 500% YoY growth shows that going forward, the top smartphone OEM [original equipment manufacturer] position is Samsung’s to lose.”
