Sales of Android phones, which include Google’s own Nexus One and Motorola’s
Droid, accounted for just under 10 per cent of all smartphones sold globally
in the first quarter of 2010, up from just 1.6 per cent last year, according
to figures from Gartner, the technology research group.

In contrast, Microsoft, whose Windows Mobile operating system has been
available since 2003, saw a sharp drop in market share, from 10.2 per cent a
year ago to 6.8 per cent in the first three months of this year.

Android
Android phone sales have also overtaken Apple’s iPhone in the North American
market, accounting for 26.6 per cent of units sold, compared with 22.1 per
cent for the iPhone.

Apple is the sole vendor of the iPhone, while several different manufacturers
use the Android system and there are more than 20 phones using Android
worldwide, according to Google.

However, the figures underscore just how quickly Google has been able to take
a sizeable stake in the mobile phone market. The first Android phones only
came to market in October 2008.

"We were always bullish about the potential of Android but it is surprising
how quickly it has happened. US carriers have really pushed the advertising
around Android," said Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Gartner.

Android phone shipments increased more than eight-fold in the US year on year.

In February, Google hinted at strong growth, saying about 60,000 Android
phones were being shipped every day.

Microsoft is planning to release a new operating system, Windows Phone 7, by
the end of this year in an attempt to recapture market share.

Previews of the new software have been favourable, but the much-delayed
Windows Phone 7 devices may simply be too late to the market to compete.

"Consumers still see Windows as a business brand," Ms Milanesi said.

Nokia
Nokia's Symbian smartphones and Research In Motion's BlackBerry also saw their
market shares eroded. Nokia fell from 48.8 per cent of smartphone sales to
44.3 per cent, and RIM dipped from 20.6 to 19.6 per cent.

Nokia has been hurt by launch delays of a series of smartphones this year.

Overall, sales of mobile phones in the first three months of the year were
314.7m, a 17 per cent rise from the same period in 2009. It is the fastest
pace of growth the industry has seen for four years.

Smartphones were again the fastest-growing segment of the market, rising 48.7
per cent to reach 54.3m units.

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