Data & Research

Android destroyed new purchases of BlackBerries in US over past 3 months says Nielsen

Accounted for 56% of market

Android destroyed new purchases of BlackBerries in US over past 3 months says Nielsen
The suggestion iPhone 4 owners are currently waiting for its successor rather than rushing out and buying whatever other phone takes their fancy is not news in itself, but it's interesting to see the impact it's having on OS share.

Numbers sourced by Nielsen in the US illustrate a clear spike in share of smartphone subscribers adopting rival Android during the last three months.

Google's OS currently holds a 43 percent share of the smartphone market in the US, Nielsen states, but during recent months, it has mopped up 56 percent of all purchases.

Good things come to those who...

As the numbers show, however, it hasn't taken any share from iOS; instead destroying the share of BlackBerry and other OSes. 

"The preferences of these so-called 'recent acquirers' are important as they are often a leading indicator of where the market is going," reports director of telecom research and insights Don Kellogg.

"Apple iOS remains popular in second place with 28 percent of all smartphone users, and the same percentage among those who recently got a new device. But those figures could change quickly in the months to come.

"Every time Apple launches a new iPhone or makes it available on a new wireless carrier, there is an increase in their sales."



On the whole, smartphones account for more and more of the mobile pie.

56 percent of consumers opted to buy a smartphone during the last three months according to Nielsen's numbers, and the firm expects the launch of iPhone and other new handsets to further accelerate take-up in the run up to Christmas.

[source: Nielsen]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.