Apple and Android lead smartphone breakthrough

Asavin Wattanajantra

In the battle of smartphone operating systems, Android and Apple were the big winners in the first quarter of 2010.

According to new research from Gartner, Android and Apple were the only two OS vendors among the top five to increase market share, according to stats showing sales to end users.

Android overtook Windows Mobile for the first time to take fourth spot, while Apple was third. Although Symbian and Research in Motion were in first and second place, both lost market share.

Symbian, in particular, took a hit in market share, due to Nokia not having much of a presence in the high-end portfolio.

Smartphones accounted for 17.3 per cent of all mobile handset sales in the first quarter of 2010, up from 13.6 per cent in the same period in 2009.

“As seen with the iPad and web books, based on Google's Android platform, mobile OS ecosystems are developing and will move beyond smartphones to continue to deliver consumer value and a rich user experience,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner.

Although RIM lost market share in terms of smartphones, it still sold 10.6 million units, a 45.9 per cent increase from last year. It also became one of the top five worldwide mobile handset manufacturers.