In a report examining quarterly mobile device sales, research firm Gartner found that sales of mobile devices have increased by nearly 14% since the same period in 2009, with smartphone sales accounting for 19% of worldwide devices sales.
According to the report, certain factors such as components shortages restricted smartphone sales, but overall sales increased by 50%, with Android making the biggest gains among smartphone platforms.
61.6 million smartphones were sold in the second quarter of 2010, as compared to just over 40 million in 2009, with the biggest change coming in operating systems. Android overtook Apple’s iOS for the number three spot worldwide and passed Research In Motion’s operating system to take the number one spot in the U.S.
Gartner’s numbers confirm reports from earlier this month, when we reported that shipments of Android phones has increased by nearly 900% to become the largest smartphone platform in the country. Indeed, just a year ago Android accounted for under 2% of the smartphone market worldwide, with just 755,000 units. Today, Gartner says that Android accounts for 17% of the market with more than 10 million units.
Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner, explains that a number of factors account for Android’s explosive growth over the past year.
“A non-exclusive strategy that produces products selling across many communication service providers (CSPs), and the backing of so many device manufacturers, which are bringing more attractive devices to market at several different price points, were among the factors that yielded its growth this quarter,” said Milanesi.
The report also explains that “a wider global rollout of iPhone 4 will sustain Apple’s sales momentum throughout the second half of 2010,” and “Apple’s sales would have been higher if it had not had to face tight inventory management.”
