Android US Market Share Rises To 28%, Surpassing IPhone's: NPD

[KansasVoter]

THANK GOD! Apple is so closed and media controlling! And Jobs is an ass at times (whiney feud with Adobe). I hope this trend continues!!

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The Android mobile operating system passed Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in terms of U.S. market share during the first quarter, according to a report issued Monday by the NPD Group.


According to the study, the Android OS, developed by Google Inc. (GOOG), ended the period with a domestic market share of 28%. That's up from about 20% in the December quarter, and is due mostly to strong sales of handsets such as the Droid and Droid Eris at Verizon Wireless, according to the report.

The iPhone saw its U.S. share remain relatively flat at 21%. The leader in the U.S. remains Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM, RIM.T), whose BlackBerry family of smartphone devices has about 36% of the market, according to NPD data.

"Verizon is putting considerable effort behind promoting Android to its customers," said NPD analyst Ross Rubin of the latest report.

A big part of the boost for the Android platform came from the launch of the Droid handset from Motorola Inc. (MOT) in late 2009. The device racked up strong sales and helped the platform's market share surge from below 5% in the third quarter to end the year around 20%, according to NPD data.

The data are supported somewhat by a similar report issued from IDC on Friday. Looking at the smartphone market by vendor, IDC found that Motorola had about 11.7% market share in North America in the first quarter, while HTC Corp. (HTCXF, 2498.TW)--another big vendor of Android handsets--had 9.2%. Combined, those numbers were ahead of the 17.2% market share attributed to Apple.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100510-713162.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. Pleasant news is pleasant.

:thumbsup:

[Xithras]

2. This is excellent news.

Android can do everything an iPhone can do, just as easily as an iPhone can do it, but without Apple's paternalistic meddling. It's always good to see open and free (as in libre, not gratis) technology winning out over closed and proprietary.

Of course, it probably helps that you can now buy Android phones for every phone network in America, while the iPhone is still tethered to AT&T. I think that most of the "I'd like an iPhone, but hate AT&T" crowd is now adopting Android en masse. It's certainly helping Androids numbers.

[IndianaGreen]

19. I hate AT&T

and they are a crappy network to boot.

I don't think we will ever see an iPhone in Verizon.

[JHB]

3. Do I have to call my phone "Optimus" now? n/t

[tranche]

4. Actually, the feud w/ Adobe has to do with it not embracing the open web.

Which is odd i a way, but the Adobe issue is real and others are taking jabs at it as well.

[AnArmyVeteran]

5. But the Android doesn't have an onscreen keyboard & it's data connection is slow...

[KansasVoter]

9. Most people I know hate their iPhone on screen keyboard!

[superduperfarleft]

11. It has both an onscreen and a physical keyboard. n/t

[AwakeAtLast]

17. My Droid has one

I like the slide out better, though (it has both)

[Xithras]

20. Uhhh...my Android gives me a choice between two different onscreen keyboards.

"Conventional" or "Swype". I've never seen an Android phone without an onscreen keyboard. Even the models with a physical keyboard have an onscreen keyboard you can use if you prefer. And those are just the "as delivered" options. Android is an app-oriented operating system, and EVERYTHING is an app...including the keyboard. Want a dvorak keyboard, a Chinese keyboard, or a virtual T9 keyboard? No problem, just grab those keyboard apps from the market and swap your default keyboard app for the new one you downloaded.

It goes back to the core design principles of the Android platform. Open, flexible, and customizable. You can use it how you want, instead of being limited to the personal preferences of some corporate designer.

And I have no idea what you're referring to with a slow data connection. My T-Mobile 3G is just as fast as my old AT&T 3G, and when my phone autojoins an open wireless network (it automatically runs over wifi when an authorized network is nearby), the downloads are almost instant.

[Statistical]

25. "the android" WTF?

You are aware android isn't a single device. It is an operating system.

There are dozens of android devices and soon that will be hundreds.

It would be like saying Windows doesn't have a mouse or the automobiles don't have big trunks.

[onehandle]

6. Oh, noes. Apple is doomed. LOL! Multiple companies sell Android and nobody is buying iPhones...

...because we all know what's coming next month.

[KansasVoter]

8. Apple is the most arrogant company there is. They could sell toasters and idiots would buy them!

[onehandle]

10. They have massive customer service satisfaction.

Some can continue to push the cult meme, but they are way in the mainstream.

I'm not an idiot. I use all kinds of computers and gadgets and they almost always come out on top in most every way.

[KansasVoter]

12. I write iPhone apps and use a mac every day. I know the crap they pull and would pick a PC everytime

[KansasVoter]

13. They only have a 15% market share. Too expensive and want to keep the "elite" image.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

7. My mom loves her Android. My professor loves his iPhone.

People get very emotional about these things.

[newtothegame]

14. If any admins see this, have we considered making DU mobile-friendly?

If not a mobile friendly version, even giving us a web app icon so we can add it to our iPhone homescreen? We're a little behind the times...

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_create_custom_apple_iphone_website_icon.html

[onehandle]

15. Back when Apple pioneered the mobile Internet, this was request was discussed here.

I wasn't in favor of it. I access DU just fine on my iPhone. I think it would be very difficult for DU to make that happen and maintain it.

Now, years later there is a movement to stop making mobile versions of websites. I agree with this. There's a reason that the Apple site isn't 'formatted for the iPhone.' Apple wants the experience on the iPhone to be like the real Internet. I agree with this.

Excluding that ancient technology known as 'Flash.' Which most agree is a mobile Internet killer.

Die Flash, Die.

HTML 5 or bust!

[Xithras]

22. True, but DU is very mobile-unfriendly.

The main tables (yes, TABLES) in the discussion forums space out oddly in mobile browsers, and the text menus like the "My Forums" area can be very hard to use because the small links are so densely packed that it's very difficult to choose one with a touchscreen. I had problems with it on my iPhone, and I'm having problems with it on my Android. I've tried the Android Browser, Dolphin, and Skyfire.

Luckily, my Android also has a scroll ball, and I can use that instead of touch. It's a workaround, but it works.

[Tesha]

23. The tables work just fine in Mobile Safari.

There's very little problem using DU via an iPhone.

The only thing I'd do differently is space a very few of
the links a bit differently.

Tesha

[Xithras]

24. Well, I haven't used mobile Safari in a while.

I know that it used to have problems with it.

I should try it in Fennec (Firefox for Android) and see how it looks.

[Tesha]

26. I don't go back to the original iPhone but DU's appearance has been substantially unchanged...

...since the debut of the iPhone 3G and iPhone OS 2.0.

Mobile Safari's reliability got a lot better in the first few
"point releases", though.

Tesha

[still_one]

16. There are multiple Android platform phones vs. essentially one iPhone family

Headline a tiny bit misleading

In addition, now that the fourth generation iphone is one its way most likely in June, who is going to buy a 3GS now?

Competition is good, and I have no problem with it, but if and when the Iphone opens to other carriers, that will be when things will get interesting

[IndianaGreen]

18. Open source triumphs again!

Apple has been behaving like Microsoft lately, throwing its way around. I haven't been happy with Steve Jobs since he got his new liver.

[Statistical]

21. Open platform for the WIN!

Go android go.

I don't need a big brother Jobs approving everything that can go into the tight monoculture ecosystem he is building.