Communications and Technology Industry Research

Although Android’s share of the smartphone market is relatively small, Android (News - Alert) phones may one day outnumber iPhones, according to a study from market research firm ComScore.

 

Sales of Android phones have doubled in the past year and at the end of October 2009 they were accounting for 3.5 percent of the global smartphone market, according to a data collected by the researcher.

 

ComScore’s polls suggest that the number of consumers planning to buy Android mobile devices has more than doubled since summer 2009, while the number of those planning to buy iPhones has slightly decreased.

 

Though the battle appears to be raging between Google’s (News - Alert) Android and Apple’s iPhone, a majority of consumers prefer BlackBerry smartphones.

 

Given the poll’s outcome, Google’s Android operating system is indeed posing a significant threat to iPhone’s (News - Alert) iconic image, and distracting many potential iPhone consumers.

 

When in August mobile users were asked which phone they planned to buy in the next three months, 7 percent said the T-Mobile (News - Alert) G1 or T-Mobile MyTouch – the phones that run on Google’s Android operating system. Interestingly, only 21 percent spoke of preferring iPhone.

 

In November, they were asked the same question. This time 17 percent of respondents said they planned to buy an Android-supported device while 20 percent revealed their decision to shop for iPhone.

 

“With handsets on multiple carriers, from multiple manufacturers, and numerous Android device models expected to be in the U.S. market by January, the Android platform is rapidly shaking up the smartphone market,” said Mark Donovan, comScore (News - Alert) senior vice president of mobile.  ”While iPhone continues to set the bar with its App Store and passionate user base, and RIM remains the leader among the business set, Android is clearly gaining momentum among developers and consumers.”

 

An analysis of mobile media consumption on smartphones revealed that users of both Apple and Android-supported devices were more likely to engage with mobile media than an average smartphone user.

 

 Users of the Apple iPhone were most likely to consume mobile media, with 94 percent of users doing so in September 2009, while 92 percent of Android device users, predominantly T-Mobile G1 users, engaged in mobile media activities, 12 percentage points higher than an average smartphone user.

  

Overall, these data suggest that Android users will behave more like iPhone users than other smartphone users.

 

The comScore study found that not only is general awareness increasing about Android, but intent to purchase an Android-supported device is also increasing among mobile phone users.