Android's American market share soars, WinMo pays the price
By Chris Ziegler 
posted March 11th 2010 11:11PM
posted March 11th 2010 11:11PM
Turning our attention to smartphone platforms, BlackBerry OS, iPhone, and Android all saw gains, while Windows Mobile and Palm both saw significant downturns. You might use Palm's loss of 2.1 percent of overall market share in a single quarter as a big nail in webOS' coffin, but we're inclined to believe this includes legacy devices -- and considering the huge installed base of Palm OS-based handsets (Centros, for instance) that are coming off contract these days, it's neither surprising nor alarming to see that kind of drop. Android's gain, meanwhile, likely comes in large part from WinMo's whopping four percent loss -- it's no secret that WinMo 6.x is well past its expiration date with customers leaving in droves (even before Windows Phone 7 Series announcement), and our informal observations lead us to believe that many of those folks are heading for Android. After all, it's kind of convenient that Android gained 4.3 percent and WinMo lost about the same, isn't it? BlackBerrys still dominate the American smartphone landscape, and the iPhone market looks like it might be mature for the time being -- Apple added just 0.3 percent to its market share in the quarter, possibly a sign that folks are holding out for whatever Cupertino brings us come Summer. Is this a sign that Palm needs to step up its game yet again? Undoubtedly -- but at the same time, we wouldn't call the loss of those Palm OS subscribers a death knell just yet.
I didn't know Microsoft had that much to begin with, interested to see how WM7 will change it.
@derekdevine Come WP7S release: Apple -1 Microsoft +1
@derekdevine
Yeah, it's easy to forget how well WinMo has actually done in the market despite its horrible reputation in tech circles. Hopefully Windows Phone 7 Series can restore everyone's faith in the platform as a whole.
Can't wait to see these numbers a year from now when 40+ more Android devices are out world wide.
Go Google go!
@derekdevine
I would think that the announcement of winpho may have put some people off buying until the end of this year.
@devScott
People can't wait that long though. Your talking about another 5-6 months before we even see what a final version might look like and what features it will contain. Then it's another couple months before they hit the market.
My guess is that most of those WinMo phones coming off contract are going to Android - at least for now. While it's not as flexible as WinMo it certainly is closer than anything coming from Apple or RIM.
The other problem for WinMo is that there haven't been any significant devices released in the past year in the US. Outside of the TP2, I can't think of another compelling device with carrier subsidies. The shear lack of selection isn't helping anything.
That said, the numbers will change. As more info is leaked, as more capabilities are released, the market will form.
@bjsguess
What's the hurry to get a device? Just because a contract is coming up doesn't mean they can't do month to month until a WP7S comes out.
We'll have to see what MIX brings to the table next week.
WARNING::: Don't buy any Windows Phone.
We are witnessing the death of a phone platform. The death of Windows Phone, as both its sales and software ecosystem are now collapsing.
Anyone who buys a Windows Phone will be left with a useless brick. Adobe has abandoned any more Flash development. Skype has pulled out and withdrawn its Windows Phone software. I can't believe anyone would buy a Windows Phone the way it's going.
@Delta I do agree.
@IT expert Where is the logic?
@treats
Go WebOS go! oh wait..
@bjsguess And don't forget service pack 1, 2, and 3.
@bjsguess You're forgetting the upcoming HD2 from T-Mobile. That should build some momentum, albiet DOA.
@HighestRanked2
Well from what we know so far I'm sold, the rest is gravy!
@SeNiLe911
I think it might be worse than that. Android is nearing a point of exponential growth, it just needs a form factor that's popular (ahem, touchscreen w/ no keyboard ala iPhone) on a carrier that's popular. The HTC Incredible will probably be that reality.
But more importantly, Apple has nowhere left to go, tied to those who can stomach At&t. Meanwhile, Android has yet to even infiltrate At&t, and is expanding with all of the carriers. Apple has hit its ceiling unless they change some policies and open up to other carriers. As Android matures, and Apple has allowed/caused that opening, it will only grow, leaving Apple nothing to compete with in its arsenal.
The new Apple: Innovate. If that doesn't work, Litigate.
@bjsguess
Agree about the TP2. I just bought one and another one for a family member. I'm a bit of a geek and control freak, so hackability was paramount for me. He's got "fat finger" syndrome (his words, not mine), so a very good keyboard was a must, and the TP2 has the best keyboard out of any smart phone that I could find. So far, we're both very happy with the phone and with WinMo in general with HTC Sense. It really does just work for us.
Although I'd add the HD2 as another compelling device. Not released in the US yet, but will be in the next few weeks. But, there's a good chance the (probably) lack of upgradibility's going to kill that device -- not to mention Tmobile's network is limited in much of the country.
@derekdevine
yea people forget that together with Blackberry, WinMo is pretty much the business standard. i know some that use iPhones now, and it's a very versatile platform but people compare WinMo to it which you can't really do because they have different targets.
@SeNiLe911
The difference is that people get carrier subsidies at the 22-24 month in exchange for re-upping their contract. You don't want to be holding out for that long and not take advantage of your subsidy. This is especially true when nobody has a firm idea about what the 7S phone experience will be like OR if their carrier will have a launch phone OR what pricing may be on said phone.
The only way a majority of the people hold off is if much more is released at MIX and carriers get paired up with launch devices. Then maybe people will wait it out for 7-8 months. Otherwise, it's off to the best choice available today and possibly look at upgrading via eBay when 7S is launched.
Go Android, Go!
@SolidSnake
Yes, viva la DROID
I'm an EX-WinMo user cause I got tired of having to reset my phone just to use it for a... phone call (isn't that supposed to be it's primary funtion?).
@TekWarrior
I have the sprint hero and have to reset it or wait for it to unfreeze before i use it. whats the difference again?
VIVA LA ANDROID!
Symbian?
@BinaryTB
This is US marketshare percentages, where symbian is nearly non-existant
@BinaryTB
love your avatar
Why does BlackBerry continue to dominate so much? Is it still entirely just a corporate/business thing, or are there really people out there that are genuinely as drawn to their BBs as others are to their iPhones or Android devices?
Throw out the normal re-hashed answers and think about it. Is it all carrier subsidies, the fact that Verizon was very aggressively marketing the BBs for a while, or something else?
@Nerdtalker
The carriers control access to technology in the US and there is a lag between new phones/tech and contracts expiring so people can 'upgrade".
There is a very expensive girls school near my office and I see the students in the cafe on the corner with nothing but Blackberries. These girls use their phones for nothing but texting and their thumbs move 1000 mph on the hard keyboard.
@Nerdtalker
Blackberries are available on every carrier. People buy them to use as texting phones because of the good keyboard... and occasional web browsing. Blackberry Messenger is pretty popular too.
They're not that bad...
@Nerdtalker I don't know why people have such distain for Blackberries. They are really good devices for what their strengths are.
Blackberries: Email/Corporate Email.
iPhone: Music, Web browsing, Video, Canned Apps
WinMo: Obscure Microsoft apps and custom apps. (last version I used was 2003 ).
Symbian: Um, didn't like at all. Painful for typing and web browsing and email. e61i.
Android: No idea, haven't really used yet.
I'm in a good groove with Blackberry. My work offers pretty much any phone (WinMo, Blackberry, iPhone, Symbian, no Android yet). I love my wife's iPhone, but I wouldn't want to use it for what I do for work.
To each their own, though.
@Nerdtalker
yep. nothing beats a blackberry for texting/emailing. i can easily type on a blackberry pearl blindfolded with one hand.
@dark star The reason people are down on the Blackberry is that its OS is an antiquated mess, more in need of an overhaul than even Windows Mobile was, in my opinion.
Sure, it does email and texting well. But there are other devices that do email just as well, without an OS that looks like it's from the Windows 3.1 era. (Caveat: never used a Storm, though I have used the Bold and newer Pearls).
The only real benefit that Blackberries have these days, that keeps them hanging on with the younger crowd, is BBM. Now, I have no idea why a message system that is exclusively available for one type of device became popular (unless it's solely the fact that it's exclusive that makes it popular), but that's the only reason it's keeping a foothold with the younger crowds these days.
@Nerdtalker Yeah, you'll see even Googlers are given Blackberries, I think it is just best at e-mail, period. They're kind of the antithesis of the iPhone - they focus on making the physical aspects of their phone really great (I mean in terms of keyboard, etc, as opposed to everything touchscreen based like Apple or the majority of Android phones right now). If you think about it, Blackberries are what took over when Palm fell off the face of the Earth between the last Treo and WebOS.
@Nerdtalker
Valid Q, almost never see blackberries in silicon valley.
It's hard to explain the appeal of BB's to someone who's not a regular user (or has tried them but didn't fall into the groove)... even though both hardware and software can be clunky in various ways, the interaction between the two (and the user and the phone) just "works" in some simple and satisfying way; and it works so well, the clunky aspects usually don't become too frustrating... more just part of the phone's "personality." BB's are just very well engineered devices...
@mpv Unless your first BB experience was the original Storm!!! Worst phone ever. Min 5 battery pulls a day. Phone froze all the damn time. At the time Verizon just didn't have anything else so I dropped verizon and went to AT&T and got myself an iphone 3Gs. Couldn't be happier.
@Nerdtalker
I can tell you that BlackBerrys are popular on campus for one reason.... BlackBerry Messenger. It's RIM's killer app. Once you have BBM and can do group chats and picture sharing and all that, you just don't want to go back to SMS. It doesn't suck battery life like Live Messenger clients, offers a richer experience than text, and is more instantaneous than email. Most importantly, it already has an established user base... "I'm going to get a BlackBerry because X friends already have it, and I want to BBM with them."
RIM's OS is old, but it does everything the other OS's do. Perhaps not in as polished a manner, but it'll do it and it's reliable.
Its a bit flawed. It doesn't show the growth of the smartphone market. So Windows Mobile could have the same device install base, but did not add new users while the rest of the market grew. Looking at previous global figures suggest this trend.
It also dispels that the iPhone is not growing, it is just not growing in marketshare anymore, as Android is more and more attracting new users to the smartphone market.
It is never good journalism to read too much into something. And to suggest the Windows Mobile users left to a certain platform is reading too much into it without all the facts considered. In fact, I believe, Android has been attracting new users who are new to smartphones.
@LJKelley
Yes, I would love to see the unit numbers posted along side these instead of just a percentage. Last quarters winmo share had dropped yet they had slighlty increased in sales from the previous quarter.
@LJKelley These figures are accurate. It's the percentage that matters, not the raw numbers. That's because there are too many smartphone platforms out there. Some will not survive. With these figures, we can see which phone platforms are dying, as they are the ones to avoid.
@IT expert Nope.
@LJKelley 42.7 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones in an average month during the November to January period, up 18 percent from the August through October period. 42.7M/1.18=36.2M. Handset market grew by about 6.5M.
Old new total handsets by OS: 36.2M / 42.7M
RIM 14.95/18.36=+3.41M
Apple 8.98/10.72=+1.74M
MSFT 7.13/6.70=-.43M
Goog 1.01/3.03=+2.02M
Palm 2.82/2.43=-.39M
Google tripled their install base, not much farther to go to catch MSFT, but still a long way away from Apple. Here's to a good race.
RIM does fucking work.
Anyways, Google marches on towards world domination.
@Steven
lol! Let Android dominate US 1st, then they can march towards world domination - and to do that they need Nokia to flub its line once more, thats it. Will Nokia make that mistake....probably not, given their past history but we are in for an interesting ride.
According the chart it's Palm that's taking it in the you know what. Palm took a 27% loss where as Microsoft took a 20% loss.
@MacBandit You gotta realize that October was right around when paid apps came to webOS...of course it's going to dip down from when they all first hit to level out.
I'm floored by the total "Palm Apologist" words int his article - Engadget is bending over backwards to try to explain away Palm's marketshare loss; I would think that is a job for Palm to do.
Certainly also totally calls into question the idea of "lack of bias" when Engadget reports about webOS.
@Freakin Ijit
Engadget has no responsibility to be unbiased - they're an internet tech site, not a government panel.
@leykis101
That is not a phone.
@leykis101
Not unless you want to count every device that runs android too.. in which case, apple and others are in for a world of hurt