In Q1 1020, Droid Outsells IPhone – Android Vs. IPhone

The Android vs. iPhone battle got more entertaining as the Android underdog phone outsold the Apple iPhone in first quarter 2010. Apple is winning the war, even if the Android did win one small battle. Apple enjoys a huge lead in total smartphone sales over Android. Blackberry, of course, dominates the field. While Apple iPhone and Blackberry sales are down, the Android market is trending upward. Some analysts think the trend will continue making the iPhone vs. Android margin smaller.

Milestone of Android vs. iPhone

The Android vs. iPhone hit a milestone when the Android caught 28 percent of smartphone sales last quarter reports the NPD group. NPD reports that Apple’s iPhone won 21 percent of all the smartphone sales, while Research in Motion’s Blackberry took 36 percent. According to ComScore, which is a digital market research firm, a key stat in Android vs. iPhone is that Google’s Android operating system had just nine percent of the market as of February 2010, in contrast to the iPhone’s 25.4 percent.

Others falter with Android phone gains

In winning the latest round of iPhone vs. Droid, PC World explains that Google’s OS is the only smartphone OS whose share of sales grew over the previous quarter. Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and WebOS sales are falling like a mortgage loan modification, and iPhone sales are flat. If this trend continues, PC World’s J.R. Raphael said Android will catch up to its competitors for total market share in a very short time.

How did Android beat iPhone?

Android phone sales may have overtaken Apple’s iPhone, as outlined by the Los Angeles Times, because of Google’s freewheeling partnering tactics that have gotten the Android operating system onto as many phones as possible. From 12 manufacturers, there are a lot more than 30 Android powered devices now. These devices contain Sprint, AT and T, T-mobile, and Verizon.

Is iPhone Verizon on the horizon?

The much speculated iPhone Verizon offering looms larger as Google wins the latest round of the iPhone vs. Droid scuffle. Apple and AT and T are tied in a partnership that is very exclusive. An analyst with Technology Business Research, Ezra Gottheil, told Computerworld, “That’s your classic technology acquisition curve. Of those within the U.S. who are interested in an iPhone and willing to put up with AT and T, fairly much all have already bought one. What’s left for Apple — as long as it’s tied to AT and T in its exclusive partnership — is largely the iPhone replacement market”.

iPhone worldwide soars

Apple won't say when but it is expected that the iPhone Verizon deal will happen. Apple is continuing the iPhone vs. Droid matchup everywhere else. Last month Apple announced Worldwide iPhone sales were up 131 percent in the first quarter compared to the same three-month stretch in 2009.

Resources

NPD reports

http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100510.html

PC World

http://www.pcworld.com/article/195958/android_outsells_apple_iphone_at_last_says_npd.html

Los Angeles Times

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/05/google-android-overtakes-iphone-npd-research.html