According to Canalys, a research firm, Android has emerged as the best-selling mobile phone platform worldwide. As of February 2012, over 300 million Android devices were in use. According to Google, over 700,000 Android devices are activated worldwide from 21 OEMs in 48 countries and on 59 carriers daily.
Android achieved a major milestone by reaching 500,000 applications in October 2011, and it took only three years to achieve the milestone. Android Market is now the number two app store with over 550,000 apps, surpassing BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, and Nokia’s OVI store, which is behind Apple and Android. Android Market has registered over 10 billion application downloads as of December 2011.
The Android Market entered in October 2008 with just 34 apps and nine games. It suddenly witnessed a spurt in available applications with a whopping 500% increase in less than a year. Google is behind Apple in mobile applications, with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users accessing over 500,000 iOS-based applications via the iTunes App Store. Apple’s App Store was launched in July 2008, and it managed to reach 100,000 milestones in just over 16 months, several months after it achieved 1.5 billion system downloads.
Apple currently allows developers to sell apps through its App Store in 100 countries. The Android Market is available in 46 countries, and Blackberry in 65 markets with six languages. Android entered the smartphone OS industry a couple of years back with T-Mobile G1, and it paid off, with many handset makers like Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung joining the bandwagon. Android acquired a big chunk of market share within the first year of its release.
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Outlook
According to the latest market research report, by 2013, smartphones will grow to represent over 27% of shipments worldwide. The proportion in some Western European developed markets surpasses 60% and 48% in North America. The recent and upcoming launches of new smartphone operating systems, including iOS4, Blackberry OS 6, Symbian 3 and 4, and Windows Phone 7, will help maintain the current trend of heavy growth in the smartphone industry. However, worldwide market share will still revolve around these four key providers.
Smartphone manufacturers, such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, and Motorola, will use the Android platform for their new budget devices to help Android achieve number-one status in North America.
Anupam is a Mobile development company offering Android Application Development and website-to-Android app conversion services for organizations ranging from small and medium enterprises to large enterprises.
