The Daily Star, AFP, December
04, 2012
 |
| A Google Android figurine sits on the welcome desk as employee Tracy McNeilly smiles at the new Google office in Toronto, November 13, 2012. (REUTERS/ Mark Blinch) |
WASHINGTON:
Google's Android operating system will power more than two-thirds of smartphones
sold worldwide in 2012, and will remain the dominant platform for at least the
next four years, a survey showed Tuesday.
The survey
by the research firm IDC showed Android will be the platform for 68.3 percent
of smartphones shipped in 2012, far ahead of 18.8 percent for the iOS platform
used on Apple's iPhone.
"IDC
forecasts Android to be the clear leader in the smartphone mobile operating
system race, thanks in large part to a broad selection of devices from a wide
range of partners," the market tracker said.
"Samsung
is the leading Android smartphone seller though resurgent smartphone vendors LG
Electronics and Sony, both of which cracked the top five smartphone vendors
during the third quarter, are not to be overlooked. IDC believes the net result
of this will be continued double-digit growth throughout the forecast
period."
The report
said Android will retain the top position through 2016, when it will have 63.8
percent of the market in the face of increased competition from Apple,
Microsoft's Windows Phone and others.
"Android
is expected to stay in front, but we also expect it to be the biggest target
for competing operating systems to grab market share," said Ramon Llamas,
research manager with IDC.
"At
the same time, Windows Phone stands to gain the most market share as its
smartphone and carrier partners have gained valuable experience in selling the
differentiated experience Windows Phone has to offer."
Llamas said
other players jockeying for market share will include Research in Motion's BlackBerry,
which releases a new operating system next year, and the open-source Linux
system.
BlackBerry,
which until a few years ago was the dominant smartphone, will see its market
share slide to 4.7 percent in 2012, according to IDC, and to 4.1 percent by
2016.
Linux will
be used on two percent of smartphones this year and 1.5 percent in 2016, it
said. Windows will grow from 2.6 percent this year to 11.4 percent in 2016, IDC
said.
Apple's iOS
will remain the clear number two platform but will be "cost prohibitive
for some users within many emerging markets," IDC said.
"In
order to maintain current growth rates, Apple will need to examine the
possibility of offering less expensive models," it said.
The report
said the overall worldwide mobile phone market will grow just 1.4 percent in
2012, the lowest annual growth rate in three years. The total number of devices
sold is expected to be around 1.7 billion.
The
forecast reflects an estimated 39.5 percent growth in smartphones, but declines
in sales of other kinds of mobile phones.
"Sluggish
economic conditions worldwide have cast a pall over the mobile phone market
this year," said IDC's Kevin Restivo.
"However,
the fourth quarter will be relatively bright due in part to sales of
high-profile smartphones, such as the iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S3, in
addition to lower-cost Android-powered smartphones shipped to China and other
high-growth emerging markets."
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