Research firm Canalys is today reporting a surge in the worldwide shipments of Android smartphones. Thanks to Android-based products from HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericssion, LG and others, smartphones running the Android operating system grew 886% worldwide in Q2 2010.
Also in the U.S., the largest smartphone market in the world, Android devices collectively represented a 34% share of the market during the quarter. With growth of 851%, Android became the largest smartphone platform in the country.
Says Canalys VP and principal analyst, Chris Jones, the latest data “clearly reveals the impressive momentum Android is gaining in markets around the world.” He notes how heavily carriers are promoting the Android devices, like Verizon Wireless with its line of Droids, for example. “These products have been well received by the market, with consumers eager to download and engage with mobile applications and services, such as Internet browsing, social networking, games and navigation,” he says.
Overall, the U.S. smartphone market grew 41% year on year. It is the largest smartphone market in the world, with 14.7 million units accounting for 23% of global shipments in Q2 2010.
Asia-Pacific Aid in Android Growth
The U.S. is not the only region affecting Android’s massive growth. The Asia-Pacific region has seen Android devices gaining traction as well, especially in markets like mainland China and South Korea. Vendors making headway in China include Motorola and Samsung as well as local vendors, Dopod, Lenovo and Huawei.
Android held a 7% market share in China during the quarter thanks to shipments of almost 475,000 units, up from virtually no presence in the country at all only a year ago. However, Nokia Symbian is still the dominant platform there.
Nokia is Still Tops, RIM & Apple Grow Too
Nokia also retained its lead in worldwide market share in Q2, with a 38% share it reached by shipping a record 23.8 million units, a growth of 41% year-over-year. Its current focus is on bringing affordable smartphones to market, a strategy that seems to be working in terms of unit sales.
RIM’s Blackberry is also up, having grown by 41%. It’s now the second-place vendor with an 18% share and is the dominant vendor in North and Latin America.
“Antennagate” issues didn’t appear to affect iPhone shipments, either, Canalys reports. Apple now retains a 13% worldwide share, with Q2 growth of 61%.
No vendor, though, shows as impressive a growth as Android, with its 886% increase.
Smartphone Market Increases – A Trend that Will Continue
Canalys Senior Analyst Pete Cunningham says that the growth in the smartphone market reflects “the increasing importance of smart phones in device vendors’ and operators’ handset portfolios.” Combined with the interest from “growing numbers of consumers,” he predicts that by 2013, smartphones will grow to represent over 27% of shipments worldwide, with the proportion in some developed markets in Western Europe surpassing 60% and 48% in North America.
Note that Canalys’ report calculates market share based on shipments, not activations, mobile Web market share, applications sold, or other factors. As we’ve seen in the past, even though Nokia may be the worldwide leader in terms of unit sales, its application store (Ovi) doesn’t do nearly as well in terms of revenue as either Apple’s or Google’s Android Market.
