February 2011
Featured in this insight: Manufacturing, engineering & industrial, IT & telecommunications
Market research confirms Symbian os has lost first place to Android: A new study by UK-based market research company Canalys has shown that in the fourth quarter of 2010, Google’s Android operating system has taken top position in popularity over Nokia’s Symbian OS – this has been measured through global shipments of smartphones.
The study revealed that manufacturers shipped 33.3 million Android phones worldwide, outpacing Nokia’s shipments of 31 million.
The success of the Android OS is set to solidify Google’s dominance in the mobile advertising industry as it effectively targets the demands of the consumer market. US research company Gartner recently predicted that more people will access the internet through mobile devices than through PCs in 2011.
Nokia retains its place as the single largest smartphone manufacturer; however its hold on the higher end of the market has been steadily declining in the face of strong competition from both Google and Apple.
Analysts reviewing the recent data are in agreement that the momentum is with Android but it is still necessary for marketers to be thorough in conducting cross-platform mobile advertising to reach the widest audience, because as yet, no single operating system or platform can claim total consumer dominance.
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