A report that Android has achieved status as the number one smartphone platform in the world has been called into question. According to analyst firms Gartner and IDC, the numbers reported by competitor Canalys are inaccurate…at least for now. Despite 888.8% growth this year, Android did not displace Symbian in Q4 2010 as the world’s top smartphone platform, both firms say.
Instead, Gartner reports that Android overtook Symbian in unit sales, but Symbian is still slightly ahead in terms of market share. IDC also reported that Symbian is the “market leader” at present.
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That’s not to say that Android isn’t growing meteorically – Gartner reported that Android as an operating system grew 888.8% in 2010 and is now in the number two position worldwide. Its fourth quarter sales were driven by broad availability of devices from companies like HTC, Samsung and Motorola.
Symbian’s market share dropped in the fourth quarter to 32.6% (32.6 million units), allowing Android to take over in unit sales. However, says Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, “the Symbian OS is also used by Fujitsu and Sharp as well as in legacy products from Sony Ericsson and Samsung. This aggregated volume kept Symbian slightly ahead of Android.”
Nokia shipped 461.3 million units in 2010, a 7.5% drop since 2009. In market share, Nokia dropped 6.7% since 2009.
Meanwhile, the number 3 and 4 slots were held by RIM and iOS, respectively. RIM sold 47.5 million units – up 38.2% over last year. But its market share declined from 19.5% in Q4 2009 to 13.7% in Q4 2010.
Apple sold 46.6 million units in 2010, up 87.2% from 2009. It has maintained its 16% market share in Q4 2010.
In addition, IDC positioned Nokia as the top vendor in smartphone shipments and market share in its recent report too.
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