Apple has leap-frogged Nokia to take top spot in Australia. IDC Australia released its Q3 Mobile Device Tracker and the data shows that Apple now has a 36.5% market share, while Nokia sits just below at 30.5%. This is the first time since 2002 that Nokia has not held the top spot in the land down under. The Finnish company overtook Palm and has enjoyed its position as the top manufacturer in Australia for the last eight years. Though #2 in Australia, Nokia is still #1 globally with a 37.6% market share.
The wild card in Australia, and globally, is Android. Android is growing at an astounding rate. In Australia, Android started the year at 2.1% in Q1 2010, grew to 7.1% in Q2, and jumped to 21% in Q3. That is a 10-fold increase in market in a short nine months. Interestingly enough, these figures only take into account sales until the end of September and do not include the high-profile HTC Desire HD which launched last month in Australia.
Analyst Mark Novosel of IDC Australia predicted the smartphone wars will culminate in a battle between Android and Apple. He declined to declare a winner,
“It’s looking like next year it’s going to be close between Android and Apple but I would be inclined to say that Apple will keep its lead, although we have been under pretty much every quarter with our Android forecast so anything really is possible at this stage.”
Similar results are seen in the U.S. with Android growing faster than any other mobile OS. Q3 2010 comScore data shows that Android grew from 17% in July to 23.5% in October. In the U.S., RIM and its BlackBerry handsets are suffering a similar fate as Nokia. BlackBerry is the market leader with 35.8% of the market but the manufacturer is slowly losing market share. Apple is also growing but at a much slower rate than Android. Looking back, 2010 is the year Android exploded onto the scene. Will 2011 be the year Android eclipses Apple and becomes a household name?