Google's Android is on the up. Different sources over the past month or so have delivered compelling statistics and the message is clear: Android is not to be ignored.
From Gartner
link here
World-wide smartphone market share, calculated from sales Q1 2010:
- Symbian 44.3% (down from 48.8% Q1 2009)
- RIM (Blackberry) 19.4% (slightly down from 20.6% Q1 2009)
- iPhone 15.4% (up from 10.5% Q1 2009)
- Android 9.6% (big jump from 1.6% Q1 2009)
- Windows Mobile 6.8% (dropped from 10.2% Q1 2009)
From NPD
link here
Android overtakes iPhone OS in the USA to take the number-two smartphone slot. Calculated from sales figures in Q1 2010 for USA:
- RIM (Blackberry) 36%
- Android 28%
- iPhone 21%
From AdMob
link here
Android vs iPhone OS (includes iPhone, iPod and iPad) statistics based on usage data (not sales):
- USA - iPhone 18.3M, Android 8.6M
- UK - iPhone 3.8M, Android 0.4M
- China - iPhone 0.9M, Android 0.9M
But what does this mean for developers (like Pixelthis)?
The good
- Android is an open platform, with a burgeoning application store (marketplace).
- Android is gaining increasing market share.
- With the announcement of Unity3D for Android as an example, there are more and more great tools to help create rich applications .
The bad
- Android still suffers from device fragmentation. Mind you, so does the iPhone now with 3 generations of iPhone, iPod and now iPad in the mix.
- With weak copy/DRM protection for applications, pirating on the device is simple. Not good when you are trying to support a team of developers and every dollar helps :)
- Although the marketplace is active, it is far less so than the App Store. Android users just don't want to part with their $$$.
Not good news as the above include (in my opinion) two of the the top three problems that beset mobile application/game developers. The top three problems were never solved during our years of experience developing for Flash Lite devices, and are in my opinion the reasons that Flash Lite did not gain commercial traction:
- Distribution (A centralised market place)
- Device Fragmentation (!Write-once, run anywhere)
- DRM (Piracy)