By The latest analytics report from Gartner is in, and their quarter two numbers once again bode positively for Google and Android. While it was already becoming old hat to keep referencing Android’s rapid rise in the mobile market, after the recent string of reports covering the second quarter of the year “Android beats out iPhone” is starting to become the standard. This is once again shown in Gartner’s figures, which place Android as the number three mobile OS world-wide with a 17.2 percent market share. This sites one percent below number two RIM’s 18.2, and a full three percent above Apple’s 14.2.
In other news from the report, HTC has cracked the top ten mobile manufacturers, in large part thanks to the use of Android heavily in their rotation of constantly released handsets. They are now poised just below Apple’s number seven rank in the standings, with Motorola and their Android phones (in addition to their other non-Android handsets) ranking sixth.
At this point I’d like to draw your attention to a PCWorld article from November 1st, 2007, in which analyst Ken Dualney of the very same Gartner group that issued this latest report said, “Building an OS is the dumbest thing [Google] could do.” Well, Ken, we’re not sure if you still work with Gartner, but how does it feel to eat crow?
[via Gartner]
Looking good Android!
@Kevin, I think this is referring to sales market share not outright market share. Meaning Android sold more units in Q2 than Apple.
Impressive numbers! I wasn’t expecting this to happen so quickly. Congrats Google.
@kidphat, indeed, given that this is clearly based on units sold in the quarter. Fortunately for Google, install base shifts very quickly in this market. Most people don’t hang on to a smartphone for much more than a couple of years.
Who knew there where so many Symbian users out there. Where are they?
ok, i’ll throw my 2cents in. I don’t have an iPhone or an Android phone. Everybody keeps comparing Android to Apple and saying that it’s winning. There’s like 40 Android phones out right now all from nearly a dozen different companies. I would like to see only Motorola Droid phone sales vs. the iPhone, or only HTC droid phone sales vs. the iPhone. I don’t get why you would group all these Android companies together and say they’re beating Apple in units sold, I should hope they could, there’s way more of them. “Android phones” is a HUGE group of manufacturers, the iPhone is made by just one company. Unless someone has numbers to show otherwise, I’m going to bet that Apple is beating the crap out of JUST Motorola Droid phone sales… or JUST Samsung Droid phones.
Wouldn’t that be a more accurate comparison? How can you compare Apple iPhone sales against nearly 13 companies that make Android phones?
man its easy to see sympian’s once you realize how many phone’s have it.
Zach,
You could make the same argument for RIM or Symbian, too. It’s just one company, but there are many phones with the same OS. Blame Apple for not releasing different phones. The article is talking about OSs, not specific phones.
Idiot.
Also, go to any non tech person and ask them what an iphone is, then ask them what an Android is. They will tell you what an iphone is every time, android not so much. So stop say “oh well duh, its one phone on one carrier vs 40 phones on all carriers” it doesn’t matter, iphone is still WAY up there in people’s minds, the fact that it is losing in this market shares tells you that people are learning what Android is, and in one year we grew 15%!!!! Thats unheard of!
@ zach
Apple is still selling the 3gs and soon they will be selling the white iphone4, so it will be 3 apple handsets against googles ever impressive line up.
Thats the thing about ANDROID, you have something that uncle steve forbids, its a little thing called CHOICE. Believe it or not a lot of us want to be able to choose how we use our phones and not be dictated to.
Some of us want small screens and some of us want large screens, some of us want total touch screens and others want full keyboards, thats why you cant really continue with your arguament, Android users like choice, something that Apple forbids, hence so many phones use the Android OS to cater for the people who beleive in freedom of choice. Its the OS that is important coupled with a happy end user, and on that front, Android seems to be the new King.
@zach
This is comparing operating systems on phones/devices not hardware. This is why it does not say “iPhone” anywhere. This is a comparison of Apple’s iOS vs Google’s Android. Many people think that iOS means “iPhone sales” when in reality there are a couple devices that use it such as the iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone. While it is quite impressive that just one company has done so well with a small number of products it still does not take away from Android’s achievement.
@zach
Just because Apple doesn’t license out it’s OS doesn’t make it unfair to compare iphones to android phones. Outside of being “unique/superior” by having a more common smartphone like the iPhone developers only look at total marketshare. Fact is that if I develop an app for android, 10.6 million new phones can access my app, wheras if I design for the iphone, only 8.7 million new devices can access my app.
Users are able to choose the android phone that fits them best based on price, network availability, and physical size. Obviously you are going to sell fewer individual units if you have choices available to you, as opposed to the “you can buy an old model or a new model with a broken antenna” options available with apple.
Wait, is it 2012 already?
http://phandroid.com/2009/10/08/in-2012-14-of-smartphones-could-be-android/
It’s true that it’s quite unfair to compare 13 phone manufacturers against apple selling just one phone, or even the whole lineup it has.
The “big” picture here is more that google is installing it’s mobile operating system on just about anything that can fit into a bag or pocket. Also webkit is hitting everything from desktop computers to mobile devices right now too.
..next up is tablets, google tv, and chrome os for the grand finale.
i think android will keep growing. and i can’t wait to see how it goes. especially since my contract is up in december and ill be able to upgrade to a new android by then and who knows what will be out. @zach, yeah if individual sales were compared. iphone would have the higher numbers over all. but its not like people that go to buy an iphone are being turned away beacuse they arnt in stock. its just that more and more people are going towards android.
What a difference a year makes.. You see, a little over a year ago the Apple crowd and everyone else said Android was a flop when it was 1 phone on 1 carrier (the 4th largest in the US), but this was a US centric view.. the lucky dogs in other parts of the world were enjoying all the other Androids like the Hero and the Magic and we were sitting here waiting for the carriers to get a clue.. So now the Apple crowd has the tables turned.. “but, but, we only have one phone on one carrier..”
@Ryan, Steve Jobs’ lap dogs will refuse to believe the credibility of the story. They will claim it to be a conspiracy theory and they will find any reason to discredit it. Despite Androids gain, no one can denied Apples success as indicated by their stock price. Anyway, long live Android.
Myth: “oh…only geeks and techies will go for Android.”
BUSTED!
Apple believed that because the iPhone was just one simple choice, that its simplicity would win out over the ‘cacophony’ of everything else out there. After all, it did beat WinMo, which was also available on many phones and carriers.
@SK well said
For ppl keep using the “one vs. many” argument and saying it isnt fair…look at that chart and see where Win Mo is…then try using that “one vs. many” argument again.
ppl….give Android credit….
@ari-free
Exactly.
And ‘linux’ just didn’t catch on.
Android for President!
This is nice but I want to see the third quarter numbers. That will be the real test for android. So let’s wait and see
Apple’s mistake was going exclusive, and with AT&T no less. Then not licensing the OS was the next. You think they would have learned from Song’s Betamax debacle in the 70’s.
OEM’s see these numbers, get even more excited and will push out more competitive products.
Seriously: Apple thought they were so superior that everyone would bend over backwards to get the iPhone or just wither away.
iphone is old news…..grandma’s device….
iphone 4 looks like iphone 3gs
iphone 3gs looks like iphone 3g
iphone 3g looks like iphone 2000BC
It makes me look like a old man carrying one.
I’m trading in this crap.
Symbian spred itself especially thanks to the name of Nokia. Most of the Nokia users have bought their device just because it was a Nokia (like my mother and father-in-law, etc. etc.), a large percent/number of symbian/nokia users are not aware of what a smartphone is i.e. not taking benefits(!) of their phones.
You’d think Apple would have learned from their experience vs. Windows. And speaking of that, i dont think I ever.heard anyone complain about Apple vs. Windows comparisons since there were so many more companies offering the latter.
Apple thought that since they beat WinMo and Zune, they wouldn’t have this Windows experience again. I mean look what Microsoft has to do now. Their UI was based on a stylus and now they have to break compatibility with all their apps. Microsoft had to start all over from scratch and they still have yet to release anything.
Apple didn’t expect google to know anything about creating an OS. I don’t think they understand how Droid completely changed everything for them.