Smartphone Users Prefer Android, Study Shows

Recently, well-known analysts The Nielson Company asked nearly 15,000 Americans which mobile operating system they were currently using. Although several leading platforms scored very well, Google's Android narrowly took first place.

The Nielson Company polled 14,701 Americans, asking each participant (who was also a postpaid mobile subscriber) what mobile OS was running on their primary smartphones.

The race was a close one: 29 per cent reported using an Android-based device, 27 per cent said they use an (Apple) iOS phone, and another 27 per cent said they own a RIM (Reasearch in Motion) handheld. (Source: pcmag.com)

The Windows family of phones accounted for one in ten smartphones, with HP's PalmOS and the Symbian OS taking 4 and 2 per cent of the market share, respectively.

Study Finds Remarkable Parity in Smartphone Market

The study found that most people own Android phones (found on hardware built by HTC, Motorola, and Samsung), but iPhones and BlackBerry devices are also continuing to sell well.

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform (found on devices built by Motorola, HP, Samsung and HTC) is showing decent growth despite only recently entering this already very crowded marketplace.

Nielson also provided an age breakdown for those purchasing each device. Interestingly, it seems each mobile OS has its fans across all age groups, with only one age bracket standing out: 6 per cent of mobile users aged 18 to 24 prefer Android, with 4 per cent each showing preference for the iOS and BlackBerry platforms. (Source: theregister.co.uk)

There's clearly a lot of parity in the smartphone market. Not only is market share evenly split between Android, iOS and RIM, but no age group shows any particular preference for any one of them. Microsoft's Windows phones, however, continue to be on the outside looking in.