Here's something for Google's senior vice president of mobile Andy Rubin to tweet about -- shipments of Android smart phones grew a phenomenal 250 per cent in the last three months of last year, accounting for 52 per cent of all handsets shipped that quarter, according to market analysts Canalys, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Over the year as a whole, Android accounted for 48.8 per cent of all smart phones shipped around the world, meaning nearly five out of every ten smart phones shipped in 2011 sported Google's Android operating system. Pretty impressive.
Of course, this is how many units were 'shipped' (i.e. punted out to shops), as opposed to actually sold, so we should take the numbers with a pinch of salt. What's undeniable, however, is the inexorable rise of the smart phone -- sales exceeded those of PCs for the first time ever, with the collapse of netbooks taking its fair share of the blame. Netbooks dropped by 32 per cent, according to Canalys, with tablets taking over.
Android was up 244.1 per cent over last year, reaching 237.8 million units over the 12 months. (No doubt those 4 million activated over Christmas will have helped.) Apple's iOS was the second most dominant operating system, with its 93.1 million devices accounting for 19.1 per cent of the market. It also showed impressive growth, shipping 96 per cent more units than 2010.
Apple was just ahead of Samsung for handset shipments, though Canalys' numbers don't take into account Samsung phones distributed under other brands, like the Nexus. Factor that in, and Apple sits third behind Nokia and Samsung -- at least, according to a previous survey that goes on sales.
Android has no doubt been boosted by handsets boasting its latest version, Ice Cream Sandwich, chief among them being the Galaxy Nexus.
Which is your operating system of choice? Is Android a stolen product, as Steve Jobs said? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or over on our Facebook page.
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JK1999 4 February, 2012 16:07
The out-shipping PCs part doesn't really surprise me as most people change their pc (at a minimum) every 2 years, I didn't infact change mine for 6! Whereas most people change their phones every 12-24 months (unless perhaps if they're on pay and go), meaning that this was quite an easy thing to happen
anonymous 5 February, 2012 01:32
Android is still behind iOS if you don't fudge the numbers.
You select out only shipped Androids vs a small selection of iOS phones sold and barely squeeze out your lies.
Even though nearly everyone using Android has no idea they are it was simply the free phone being given away by the service provider. Nearly all phone manufacturers use Android because it's free, so why not. Most Android phones are not comparable at all with the real smartphone invented by Apple. Of course new users are none the wiser since they are first time users of what is classified as a smart phone, even though it's stupid in comparison with a real smartphone.
No matter though Apple takes home 75% of all profits in the entire phone industry with a 9% global share. Everyone else is losing money and market share except the one who copies every single detail of Apples products except the name on the phone, yes Samsung the company who was assembling most of the iPhones somehow has identical phones. They couldn't compete on their own, won't once Apple extricates themselves from their contracts with Samsung.
anonymous 5 February, 2012 10:53
The guy above me, apple fan boi or what?!!
anonymous 5 February, 2012 20:27
ok anon 01:32, Apple did not invent the smartphone. RIM was selling them five years before, when Apple was still designing the iPod.
anonymous 5 February, 2012 20:31
Fan Boi: Everyone copies everyone in technology. Apple has the worst patents. I mean really they are suing the entire industry for things that should never have received a patent. Like a slide lock open. That's ridiculous. That feature just makes common sense on a touchscreen. If I was the patent office I would have asked Apple's lawyers to give me an alternate way to unlock the damn phone.. what a circular motion or something.. ridiculous.
Alimus 6 February, 2012 09:20
Ok let's stop hating on the fanboy. He is right in some areas, for example Apple invented the smartphone in the same way that Edison invented the lightbulb, and Watt invented the steam engine; and yes Apple do make a ridiculous amount of money.
On the other hand I'd like to know where you get that 75% figure from, I'm going to assume its out of your arse. Either that or you're fudging the figures to suit you which makes you a hypocrite. Also not every other manufacturer is losing market share and are unprofitable, that is a luduicrously uninformed statement. So much so that it leads me to believe that you are in fact trolling these other poor commenters.
Anyway if you're not a troll have one last think about this, if Apple are making all this money, where is it coming from?