If analysts Asymco believe Samsung might be losing grip on the Android market in Asia, analytics firm Flurry is more than willing to showcase the South Korean firm's success in the west.

Flurry's data shows that Samsung's share of the Android market surged throughout 2010, leaping from its 2009 base of 4 percent to a share of 27 percent - just behind market leader HTC - by the end of the year.

Samsung's rise, of course, is largely down to the success of the Galaxy S, which sold 10 million units in 2010.



Flurry claims 2.5 million handsets were activated in December – leagues ahead of its nearest competitor in the Android market, the LG Optimus S, on less than 1 million activations.

Expanding Android

More importantly, however, is that Android as a whole grew by 891 percent in 2010, meaning Samsung's 27 percent share is worth scores more than might initially appear.

It's a transformation of Samsung's Android business that leads Flurry to one conclusion: Samsung is fast becoming the consumer's default choice for Google's OS.



It's all faintly reminiscent to the relationship Microsoft and Intel enjoyed in the late 1980s, the firm claims.

Super Samdroid

"As the 80s drew to a close, IBM had faltered as the world’s most valued brand in computing, leaving an opening for the combination of Windows and Intel, aka 'Wintel,' to be associated with value to consumers," claims Flurry's Peter Farago.

It's Farago's view that Samsung and Android – or "Samdroid", as he dubs it – is already the leader in non iOS smartphones, establishing the kind of authority that will be tough for its rivals to crack in 2011.

"With OEMs such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung and LG all adopting the Android OS, the race is on to earn a Wintel-like place in the hearts and minds of consumers."

[source: Flurry]