The latest numbers from NPD are out and it shows a familiar theme: Android and iOS are growing while BlackBerry is sliding.
The NPD report found that 52 percent of smartphones sold in the United States last quarter were powered by Android. That’s actually quite a staggering figure and it shows how Google’s approach of bringing its platform is all comers is paying off. NPD also believes Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola will be a watershed moment in Android’s lifespan.
“Google’s acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, in a prepared statement. “Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer.”
Apple is still doing quite well even without a new iPhone to help goose sales, as the report said that iOS captured 29 percent of the market last quarter. The next iPhone should be landing in the not-too-distant future, so look for those numbers to rise quickly. If you want to see how the iPhone has evolved over the last four years, check out our cool infographic.
Research In Motion continued to slide, as NPD said its market share fell 11 percent in the quarter. That’s not much of a surprise, as it didn’t release any high-profile devices during that time span. Now that it has a flurry of BlackBerry 7 devices coming to the market, it may see a slight increase but I’m still skeptical if these devices are good enough.
Windows Phone continues to have very small sales, as it is steady at under 5 percent. As for webOS … sigh, let’s not even talk about it.
[Via NPD Group]