The NPD Group is reporting that sales of Android powered mobile handsets accounted for 28 percent of the smartphones purchased by U.S. consumers in the first quarter of 2010. This marks the first time that Google’s mobile OS has outsold Apple’s iPhone OS, which acquired a 21 percent share over the same period; RIM’s BlackBerry OS led overall with a 36 percent share.
“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share, in order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones, wrote NPD analyst Ross Rubin. Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry s willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices. Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future.
