Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

ComScore: Android gains in mobile, still a long way to go

By | July 8, 2010, 12:37pm PDT

Summary: A comScore report looks at the U.S. Mobile market from March to May and finds that Android was the only platform to see any growth, with both Apple and RIM showing slight declines.

Only one smartphone platform - Google’s Android - saw growth in the U.S. between March and May of this year, gaining four percentage points while all of the others - Apple included - saw slight declines, according to a comScore report released today.

Of course, Android - now with 13 percent market share - has a long way to go before it can even think of unseating the likes of Apple or Research in Motion. As for Window’s Mobile, Android is about to overtake Microsoft, which has just 13.2 percent of the market.

During that period, Apple saw a decline of one percentage point, down to 24.4 percent of the market, but that’s likely because iPhone sales stalled as consumers waited for the arrival of iPhone 4. RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, saw a slight decline of only 0.4 percent, bringing its share to 41.7 percent but maintaining its lead.

Overall, most platforms continue to gain subscribers because the overall smartphone market continues to grow, up 8.1 percent from the February period. In all, 49.1 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during March-through-May period.

The comScore report also showed gains in the types of tasks that smartphone owners engage in, including accessing the browser (up 2.3 percent) and accessing a social network or blog (up 2.6 percent).

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Topics

Sam has been a technology and business blogger for more than 18 years.

Disclosure

Sam Diaz

Sam Diaz has nothing to disclose.

Biography

Sam Diaz

Sam has been a technology and business blogger, reporter and editor at ZDNet, the Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News and Fresno Bee for more than 18 years. He's a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a graduate of California State University, Fresno.

13
Comments

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: ComScore: Android gains in mobile, still a long way to go
tomlin21-24319035676893835085146735905770 11th Oct
Valuable to get likely to your weblog after significantly more, it's been months for me. Adequately this submitting that i've lv ******** on sale been waited for so sizeable.
0 Votes
+ -
Windows Mobile has higher marketshare than OS X!!!
NonZealot Updated - 10th Jul 2010
Microsoft, which has just 13.2 percent of the market.

Android's arrow is pointing up.

Windows Phone's arrow is pointing down.

The best statistics come from Gartner, which measures sales of new handsets (rather than installed base). Then we see that Windows Phone has plummeted to just 6.8% of the market, and Android has far more new handset sales.
0 Votes
+ -
I'm all for Android
NonZealot 8th Jul 2010
@Market Analyst
Go Android Go!

I just think it is funny how Windows Mobile has a higher marketshare than OS X. That's all. happy
0 Votes
+ -
Really?
rynning 9th Jul 2010
@nz
Yet you own a Windows Mobile phone and a Blackberry? I agree Android is a very good mobile OS, which is good for all consumers if you know what I mean.

Microsoft's mobile strategy is incoherent. It abondoned the failed Kin, but before that it abandoned the failed Windows Mobile platform and had to start over. (I call it a failure not because of units sold, but simply because Microsoft admitted it could not compete in the market.)

I hope Windows Phone 7 succeeds for the reason above, but it's already damaged goods just because of branding.
0 Votes
+ -
@rynning: Kind of
NonZealot 9th Jul 2010
Yet you own a Windows Mobile phone and a Blackberry?

I own a Windows Mobile phone and have been given a Blackberry for work.

I'm looking to replace my Windows Mobile phone, mostly because developers are unfortunately beginning to abandon the platform. sad Too bad, my Windows Mobile phone is truly fantastic otherwise. I'm humming and hawing between an Android phone and the iPhone 4. Apple has finally, for the first time ever, created a half decent phone in the iPhone 4. All previous iPhones were total junk.

I hope Windows Phone 7 succeeds for the reason above, but it's already damaged goods just because of branding.

I think it is damaged goods because v1 is going to be damaged goods. No copy and paste, no multi-tasking, no native apps. Sound familiar? Yup, for the first time ever, MS has copied Apple. Unfortunately, they decided to copy what Apple was putting out 3 years ago, a smartphone that simply isn't very smart.

I predict Windows Phone 7 will fail quite miserably. We'll see about Windows Phone 8.
0 Votes
+ -
Android Now Officially Fastest Growing OS!
i2fun@... Updated - 9th Jul 2010
NT
@NonZealot Android On More Carriers, More Device Brands, More Models and Type Devices than any other mobile OS. They gained 25% over their last numbers in three months, gaining 4% on their competition. That's a remarkable rate of growth and kills all the competition as they sit stagnating or losing market share. If you interpolate that growth rate out in combination with projected device launches, the numbers are staggering! ....no doubt putting Android phones over iPhone by year's end!

Hidden in those numbers is the real sleeper brands, Samsung Galaxy Series and Motorola X are set to make some real Waves with Android. Just think, Samsung makes over 50% of the cost of the iPhone 4. A phone that is basically a cheaper clone of Samsung's Wave and Galaxy Series that is launching 5 devices on 4 wireless networks in America alone. In over 120 countries and a 100 services total globally. It has features that blow the competition away, including it's own Apple iPhone 4 Lemon phone.

Galaxy Series phones and now Galaxy Tape Slates (1.2 to 1.5gHz w/1gig memory) on a combination of 5 phones 3 slate 8 models in the next few months in 120 countries is the next For Everyone Phones and Tape Slate PCs..... bye bye Apple iPad and iPhone 4! .....go do something useful..... like make Lemon-ade!!! haha... wink .... Galaxy S the original iPhone 4 with far better features and parts!

Comparisons? Take that Apple you'll get eaten to the core!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PryBSArheRc&playnext_from=TL&videos=miWG3O3cXDo
@NonZealot
Wow you don't even try to not sound like an ignoramus any more!!!
For the record, 13.2% of the smartphone market has nothing to do with OSX's 10% of the COMPUTER market. They are different markets you micro-encephalic troll. And FYI, 10% of the computer market DWARFS 13.2% of the smart phone market in absolute numbers.

Queue the doubtful standards.
Glad to see that Android is still on the rise. Currently I own an HTC TouchPro running Windows Mobile, but my next purchase is going to come after comparing Android and Windows Phone 7. I'm already favoring Android, but I think Windows Phone 7 deserves a decent amount of consideration. An iPhone is not even on the list of options after figuring out how little it would work for my life and how many problems friends have had with it (though I'm sure there are many other people out there for whom the iPhone is a perfect fit).
0 Votes
+ -
WP7 is vaporware
wackoae 9th Jul 2010
Until it is out, and tested in the wild, I don't see what kind of consideration you can give it except knowing it will be out between now and next year.
0 Votes
+ -
Blackberry vs. Android...
condelirios 12th Jul 2010
I am waiting until Blackberry unveils the new 9800...the touchscreen slider device with it's new OS6 to make a decision. The Samsung Galaxy series is the competitor...My concern is stability. My friends that own Android phones do a lot of restarting...and my current Blackberry Tour has never needed a restart when it wasn't having new software installed. I know, blackberries sometimes lock up... but as I have had several work blackberries and FAR less restarts than the Windows Mobile phones I had in the past... Blackberry is amazingly Stable. I don't want to step into Android and go back to twice a day restarts.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: ComScore: Android gains in mobile, still a long way to go
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 11th Oct
This really is a person from your most reliable weblogs I've previously scan. Upcoming to next to nothing overcomes decent to begin with hand undergo on issues. Thanks for nflshop remaining sincere about this.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: ComScore: Android gains in mobile, still a long way to go
tomlin21-24319035676893835085146735905770 11th Oct
Valuable to get likely to your weblog after significantly more, it's been months for me. Adequately this submitting that i've lv ******** on sale been waited for so sizeable.

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix