Android and iOS dominate smartphone market with 91 percent control

It’s official: the smartphone marketplace is a duopoly. Chances are, if you own a smartphone, your device’s operating system is either Android or iOS. Combined, The Register reports that the two operating systems accounted for 91.1 percent of all smartphone sales after 2012’s fourth quarter, according to analysts at International Data Corporation.

Apple fans will be upset to know that the bulk of that dominance belongs to Android, which topped out at nearly 69 percent of all smartphone sales. (To put it into perspective, there were nearly 500 million Android-powered smartphones sold in 2012, versus the 136 million Apple devices sold, giving them nearly 19 percent of the smartphone market.)

Sales of iOS-powered smartphones were highest in the Western markets, and the increased numbers are largely accredited to the lowered prices of the iPhone 4 or 4S after the introduction of iPhone 5. (We should also mention, the excitement over the release of the iPhone 5 also brought in record sales.)

In comparison, Blackberry device sales plummeted more than 36 percent last year. It’s no surprise, considering how long it took for the company to step up its game and catch up with the innovations that have made Android and iOS so popular. BlackBerry 10 was only unveiled a few couple weeks ago.

But Microsoft phones are still at the bottom of the totem pole, accounting for just 2.5 percent of smartphone sales.

It’s tough to say whether or not there’s a chance for any of the current companies to make any headway in the market, but for the time being, if you’re looking to buy a new smartphone, chances are the device you’ll choose will be powered by either Android or iOS – the Windows and Mac, or Pepsi and Coke, of the smartphone market.

Read complete at digitaltrends.com

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iPhone closes in on Android in growing U.S. smartphone market

As of February, smartphone users accounted for nearly half of all wireless subscribers in the U.S., and Apple's iPhone adoption rate saw growth while Android handset activations slipped.


According to new data from Nielsen published on Thursday, sales of Apple's iPhone accounted for 43 percent of all new smartphone purchases over the past three months, a 6 percent increase from the period ending in December, while Android's share fell nearly 4 percent to cover 48 percent of activations.


Riding on strong iPhone 4S sales, Apple's iOS is slowly closing the gap with Google's Android OS and now accounts for 32 percent of all smartphones. The iPhone isn't eating into Android's market, however, and is instead picking up deserters from RIM's sinking BlackBerry platform. 


Android remained top dog and took 48 percent of the smartphone market, while RIM accounted for a 12 percent share. Other devices like Windows Phone and Symbian filled out the list with an 8 percent stake.


The smartphone market as a whole took 49.7 percent of all mobile subscribers, a 38 percent increase form the same time last year when feature phones dominated the landscape.

During the three months ending in February, more than two-thirds of those who purchased a new mobile device opted for a smartphone.

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