Nov 01

iPhone Wins Phone Popularity Contest, Android Dominates OS

Posted in: Android, Apple, Google, iPhone, Phones, research, Today's Chili

A new report reveals that Apple’s iPhone has become the most popular handset in the United States, while Google’s Android platform dominates as the most popular phone operating system.

Technology research firm Canalys on Monday published its report on Q3/2010 U.S. smartphone market share. The data positions Android as the leading operating system, with 9.1 million Android-powered smartphones shipped during the quarter — 43.6 percent of the market.

Meanwhile, Apple shipped 5.5 million iPhones, which gives it a 26.2 percent share of the market, making iOS the No. 2 phone operating system. However, because iPhones are the only handsets running iOS, this figure also makes the iPhone the most popular piece of hardware in the phone market.

Before you Android and iPhone cheerleaders go off on each other in the comments, consider that these numbers are exactly what Apple and Google were shooting for, given their different mobile strategies. Apple, a hardware company, has achieved its goal of using an exclusive operating system to sell a lot of phones. And Google has achieved platform dominance with its more “open” strategy of offering Android to any manufacturer to use on any phone.

So while these numbers are huge, they’re not that surprising. I’m more curious about how market share numbers will look next year after new Windows Phone 7 handsets have been on shelves for a while. As I mentioned in a previous post, Microsoft’s mobile approach (i.e., sharing the OS only with manufacturers who meet quality standards) is combining the strengths of both Apple’s and Google’s mobile strategies, so it should be interesting to see how consumers react.

Updated 2:30 p.m. PT to correct an error on the number of iPhones sold during the quarter.

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Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com


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