RIM’s BlackBerry platform is still the most popular mobile smartphone platform in the US, but Google’s Android was the big winner in the last quarter of 2009. According to comScore, Android’s share of the US mobile market more than doubled from 2.5% in September 2009 to 5.2% in December. While the Nexus One might not be a bestseller just yet, it’s clear that the Android platform is poised for rapid growth in the next few months as more and more manufactures continue to release Android-based phones.
Good News for Android – More Bad News for Palm
Among the top five mobile platforms (RIM, Apple, Microsoft, Palm and Google), Palm lost the largest amount of market share in the last few months. Palm, the current number four, now owns 6.1% of the US mobile market (down from 8.3% in September). With Google’s Android rapidly growing in popularity, it’s only a matter of time before Google will overtake Palm in the United States.
As we reported in January, according to ChangeWave Research, a growing number of US consumers plans to buy an Android device in the next few months. In September, Android was still tied with Palm as the least-preferred mobile platform. Today, Palm remains in last place, with Android now being the second-most preferred platform – right behind Apple.
