Android market share doubles

Android has the wind behind it, and is taking over the smartphone market. More than half of the smartphones sold worldwide in the third quarter of the year were powered by Android, said technology research firm Gartner in a report just released.

A total of 60.5 million Android-powered smartphones were sold in the third quarter, giving the operating system a 52.5-percent market share, up from 25.3 percent in the same quarter a year ago.

For a more detailed analysis, see the Memeburn story.

Nokia sold 19.5 million Symbian-based smartphones in the third quarter, but its share of the smartphone market fell to 16.9 percent from 36.3 percent a year ago. Apple sold 17.3 million iPhones during the quarter, with its market share slipping to 15.0 percent from 16.6 percent a year ago. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion saw the largest decline, with its market share falling to 11.0 percent from 15.4 percent on sales of 12.7 million units.

“Android benefited from more mass-market offerings, a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems,” Gartner principal analyst Roberta Cozza said.

“Apple’s iOS market share suffered from delayed purchases as consumers waited for the new iPhone,” Cozza said. “Continued pressure is impacting RIM’s performance, and its smartphone share reached its lowest point so far in the US market, where it dropped to 10 percent.”