Android growing in popularity with users

Android, the free mobile operating system from Google, accounted for 51.2% of US smartphone sales in the three-month period ending in February, said the survey from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Android added 5.9 points from a year earlier, while Apple's share fell 3.5 points to 43.5%.

Windows Phone, boosted by the new operating system introduced last year from Microsoft, increased its share to 4.1%, according to the survey.

BlackBerry, which introduced a new smartphone platform in late January but started selling its new phones in the US market only in late March, saw its market share tumble to just 0.7%, the report showed.

Verizon was the top carrier with 35% of smartphones sold in the period, followed by AT&T (26.7%) and Sprint (15%).

Kantar analyst Mary-Ann Parlato said Samsung, the largest Android smartphone maker, has been continuing to rise, particularly among Sprint customers.

"Of those who changed their phone to a Samsung, 19% had previously owned one while, 15% owned a HTC, 14% owned an LG phone, and 9% had a BlackBerry," she said.

"It's apparent that Samsung is successfully capturing users from competitors and not just gaining from their own loyalists," she added.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge