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    Apple iPhone 4S sales cut into Android market share: Nielsen

    By Andrew Couts | Digital Trends – Wed, Jan 18, 2012

    The Apple iPhone 4S is a hit, if the new numbers from market research firm Nielsen are any indication. During the final three months of 2011, 44.5 percent of respondents purchased an iPhone 4S. That’s up from just 25.1 percent who went with an iPhone in October. This boost in sales helped Apple steal market share from the still-dominant Android during the fourth quarter of 2011.

    Android sales, as of October, were at about 61.6 percent of all new smartphone customers. With the release of the iPhone 4S in mid-October, Android sales fell markedly to just 48.7 percent by November, with total iPhone sales at nearly 39 percent. By December, the two camps were almost equal, with 46.9 percent of new buyers going with Android, and 44.5 percent going with Apple’s handsets.

    Despite the iPhone’s gains, Android still remains the most-popular operating system. Out of all smartphone users, an average of 46.3 percent own an Android-based device, while 30 percent own an iPhone.

    The good news for both Android and Apple is that more and more people appear to be jumping on the smartphone bandwagon. In the fourth quarter of 2011, an average of 46 percent of mobile customers owned a smartphone. Among recent mobile customers, however, 60 percent went with a smartphone instead of a feature phone.

    The biggest loser in this trend is, not surprisingly, Research In Motion. RIM’s BlackBerry devices became even less popular in the past three months, falling from 7.7 percent in October to just 4.5 percent in December. That said, RIM still holds onto an average of about 6 percent of the smartphone market — more than all other remaining OS devices’ combined.

    It will be interesting to see whether the iPhone 4S’ upward swing will continue during the coming months. Given that iPhone sales jumped directly following the release of a new iPhone, which only happens once a year, it’s really no surprise that people waited until then to jump into the smartphone ring. If the iPhone does continue to steal market share from Android, then something is seriously wrong with that market, given the fact that most new Android devices have better hardware specs, most notably the ability to connect to much faster 4G LTE networks.

    This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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    3 comments

    • Slug Munchies
      Slug Munchies  •  4 mths ago
      Interesting how they can twist facts to make it sound like Apple "beat" Android. No, Android still had more sales, so its penetration increased. Apple had a momentary surge; it would be just as accurate for the subject to say:

      "Despite a iPhone 4S sales surge on release, Apple still losing ground to Android".
      • RK10
        RK10 4 mths ago
        Twist facts? How about the fact that there is 1 iPhone and countless Androids. I would say it's a much bigger deal due to that fact.
      • drz
        drz 4 mths ago
        theres only one andriod and one ios operating system and andriod is winning for a reason its just a better operating system and lets for get most cellphone companys now carry iphones
      • Slug Munchies
        Slug Munchies 4 mths ago
        I read today that Samsung sold 5 million Galaxy II phones in Korea (in 6 months). 1 out of 4 phone users have one now, and more than 1 of 10 PEOPLE (49 million live there). That is incredible penetration.
    • A nony mouse
      A nony mouse  •  4 mths ago
      HAHA...the "journalist" reporting "fair and balanced" "news" is an apple fan boy. No thanks, I love my 65 dollar Samsung Android running on 35 bucks a month pay as you go top off virgin mobile card.

      Drag and drop when plugged into my PC. No Itunes, no invasive software. Enjoy your 4S you dupe...
      • caymangirl63
        caymangirl63 4 mths ago
        My first thought exactly...an Apple Fan Boy...it is always so obvious when these articles are written by people with an agenda!
    • Husain
      Husain  •  4 mths ago
      Android needs a little time to digest all the Apples it consumed. Fair explanation.
     Post a comment
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