New figures from IDC’s European phone tracker suggests that Symbian’s long reign as the most popular smartphone OS is about to come to an end as the all conquering Android OS marches on.
Smartphone sales surge
According to the boffins at IDC, there’s been a hefty a 7.5 per cent increase in mobile phone sales in Q3 of 2010, with 50.7 million handsets being sold.
Smartphone sector saw the biggest increase, as sales soared an almighty 109 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.
No less than 19 million smartphones were shifted in the three month period, making up over a third (37 per cent) of all handsets sold.
Android rolls on
Driving the surge in smartphones is Android, Google’s operating system, which shipped 4.3 million devices in the last quarter, a mere 200,000 behind Apple’s iPhone, and already snapping at the market leader Symbian’s heels.
There was no shortage of handsets being shifted by Apple either, with the company now shimmying into the number 3 slot for top manufacturers, jostling in behind Nokia and Samsung, and ahead of big shots like Sony Ericsson and LG.
In a statement, Francisco Jeronimo, European mobile devices research manager of IDC commented:
In the third quarter, 24 of the 45 Android devices available in Western Europe were launched.
This shows how actively phone makers are seeding operators with new Android models to meet market demand.
The operating system is very popular among consumers due to its intuitive user interface, increasing number of free applications, and very competitive prices compared with other devices on the market.
It’s also important to point out that the strong volumes Apple shipped during the quarter took it to third position among the biggest manufacturers in Western Europe, which is an impressive achievement after the antenna problems and the criticism the iPhone received when it was launched.
The Christmas period will prove crucial to see which OS emerges triumphant, and although we think the iPhone is going to give a good fight, our money’s on Android.
[Via]
