ComScore has released its report on the U.S. smartphone market for October 2010, which shows smartphones using Google's Android operating system gaining on Apple's iPhone in terms of market share.
The Android represents 23.5 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in ComScore's report, up from 17 percent in the July report. The platform's numbers are now approaching those of the iPhone, which represents 24.6 percent of the smartphone market, up just slightly from 23.8 percent in July's report.
The increased market shares for Apple and Google came at the expense of Blackberry maker and smartphone leader Research in Motion, which fell to represent 35.8 percent of the market, and smartphone platforms from Microsoft and Palm, which now represent just under 10 percent and 4 percent of the market, respectively.
However, the relatively broad diversity of Android device technical specifications, plus lack of a unified store means that it may be difficult for video game developers to reach as complete an audience on Android as on iPhone or iPad.
In addition, ComScore's numbers do not include sales and use of the iPod Touch, which uses the same operating system as the iPhone and runs almost all of the games available on the App Store. A September analysis from market research firm Asymco estimated the iPod Touch had sold 45 million units worldwide; by contrast, the iPhone has sold over 59.6 million units.
The new report places the total size of the U.S. smartphone market at 60.7 million people -- up 14 percent from July -- giving both the Android and iPhone platforms over 14 million users in the U.S. Smartphone users now represent one in four U.S. cell phone users, ComScore estimates.
The report also found that 23.7 percent of these smartphone users had used the device to play games, up from 22.3 percent in July's report.
In October, Angry Birds publisher Rovio announced it had 2 million copies of the free, ad-supported game downloaded on Android devices, just days after the title's release on the platform.
Spread over two dozen handsets with different hardware, input, screen sizes. And not willing to pay for apps.
Can't wait to get started not making any money on the Android Marketplace!
> In October, Angry Birds publisher Rovio announced it had sold 2 million copies of the game on Android devices just days after the title's release on the platform.
If by selling you mean offering the app for free then yeah, they "sold" 2 million copies then.
I would like to see a article about the difference between Android/iPhone users. Because people can't, or shouldn't just say "Oh, Android users always hack their phones are in the same vein as Linux users: Freeloaders" I know a LOT of non-techie people using/having android phones.
If what you're saying is that you don't intend to build any apps on Android, I'm sure there are a lot of aspiring Android developers who will be thankful to have one less competitor on a growing platform.
Rovio has made about $9 million on iPhone paid sales. They are approaching $1 million per month in ad revenues on the Android, a platform they have only just targetted. Do the math and see which consumers are going to provide recurring revenues to Rovio.
Android is in that uncertain beginnings stage, as a gaming platform. There has not been 1 really big hit on Android yet, and maybe there will never be.
If/Once there is, everyone will be clamoring for a piece of the action, same cycle with almost every new platform.
"However, the relatively broad diversity of Android device technical specifications, plus lack of a unified store means that it may be difficult for video game developers to reach as complete an audience on Android as on iPhone or iPad."
How is this even relevant to the article? Was it stated to "try" and discourage those that might be interested in developing for Android?
In an article comparing the relative market sizes for the two platforms, it sounds pretty relevant to me. While that might discourage those interested in android development, omitting it might be seen as encouraging android development beyond what the reality of the market actually suggests. Speaking as an android user, I have no qualms about that comment.
I guess the question is, should the article cover the "platform" or the "phone OS"? I would think they are different categories, but that is mainly because I bought my iPod to listen to music and apps are less important to me. For my phone though, apps are important, as they are what makes my phone "smart".
Can't wait to get started not making any money on the Android Marketplace!
> In October, Angry Birds publisher Rovio announced it had sold 2 million copies of the game on Android devices just days after the title's release on the platform.
If by selling you mean offering the app for free then yeah, they "sold" 2 million copies then.
Many people download free applications from places like download.com.
So, by your reasoning, there's just no making money in the computer industry - period.
Good luck with that defeatist attitude towards technology.
Good luck with comparing apples to oranges.
If/Once there is, everyone will be clamoring for a piece of the action, same cycle with almost every new platform.
Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Pocket Legends are all hits.
The "freemium" business model is proven. If you have volume (more than 250,000 users) you WILL make money off ads.
How is this even relevant to the article? Was it stated to "try" and discourage those that might be interested in developing for Android?