The NPD group recently reported that Android shipped 44 percent of all smartphones in the U.S. during the third quarter. It was followed by Apple iOS, which had 23 percent, while RIM fell from 28 percent last quarter to 22 percent in the third quarter.
“The HTC Evo 4G, Motorola Droid X and other new high-end Android devices have been gaining momentum at carriers that traditionally have been strong RIM distributors, and the recent introduction of the BlackBerry Torch has done little to stem the tide,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD.
Android’s rise was also supported by Canalys, which stated that Android handsets worldwide were up 1,309 percent from the same time last year at 1.4 million to 20.0 million units in Q3 2010. They estimate that the market share is now 25 percent.
“We are seeing more volume going into the mid- and lower-tier. We have reached a tipping point, smartphones are no longer the high-tier product,” said analyst Pete Cunningham. “Operators are looking to push smartphones into prepay market as these phones are generating a lot of data traffic revenues.
Source: eWeek
