Google’s Android operating system is now running on 1 in 4 smartphones in the 5 leading European markets, second only to Apple’s IOS, according to new research.
The study, from comScore, looked at growth trends of the smartphone platforms across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom).
In July 2011, nearly 1 in 4 smartphone users in EU5 reported using smartphones running on the Google Android platform.
HTC had the highest market share among mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), accounting for 34.6 percent of Android devices used across the region in this period, followed closely by Samsung with 31.7 percent of Android devices.
“Smartphone adoption has seen significant growth from the previous year, driven in large part by the increasing popularity of the Google Android platform,” said Jeremy Copp, comScore Europe vice president for Mobile.
“Although Symbian continues to lead the EU5 smartphone market, Android is gaining fast and recently passed Apple to become the second most popular platform. Network operators, publishers and advertisers looking to effectively reach the European mobile audience must pay close attention to the continued growth of Android in the region, as it will likely have far-reaching implications for the mobile media landscape.”
Google Android Platform Shows Fastest Growth Across EU5
In the three month average period ending in July 2011, 88.4 million mobile subscribers across the EU5 reported using smartphones, up 44 percent from the previous year. Google’s Android platform exhibited the fastest growth among smartphone platforms in this period, increasing its market share 16.2 percentage points to 22.3 percent.
*MobiLens measures users above the age of 13 and reports on only primary handset usage. Android’s growth over the past year outpaced that of other top smartphone platforms by a significant margin, with the Apple iOS and RIM platforms each experiencing gains of only slightly more than one percentage point.
Meanwhile, Symbian’s and Microsoft’s share of the smartphone platform market declined, with Symbian conceding a sizeable percentage of the market.
Source: www.comscore.com
