Shipments of mobile phones based on Google's
Android software platform will grow 900%, but off a low base,
according to
research from Strategy Analytics, a US market researcher.
Apple's iPhone OS
will be the next fastest-growing smartphone operating system in
2009, with a 79% growth, it said.
In 2008 there were 152 million smartphones shipped worldwide,
giving a 20+% growth rate. Asia Pacific led the market for
smartphones but North America had beaten Western Europe into second
place.
All other smartphone operating systems had taken market share
from Symbian, formerly owned
by Nokia, it said. Symbian was
fighting back with an Apple-like apps store and financial
encouragement for software developers to write for it. RIM
Blackberry beat Microsoft Windows Mobile into second spot for
smartphone operating systems.
Strategy Analytics senior analyst Tom Kang said Android gained
early traction in the US in the second half of 2008 and is
spreading into Europe and Asia. "Android is expanding from a low
base and it is consequently outgrowing the iPhone."
Strategy Analytics director Neil Mawston said Android had won
support from operators, vendors and developers. "A relatively
low-cost licensing model, its semi-open-source structure and
Google's support for cloud services have encouraged companies such
as HTC, Motorola, Samsung, T Mobile, Vodafone and others to support
it," he said. "Android is now in a good position to become a
top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three
years."