NPD: Android phones now outsell Apple's iPhone in US
With a variety of smartphones powered by Google's Android mobile operating system now available on the market, the handsets collectively outsell Apple's iPhone in the U.S., according to new data from the NPD Group.
NPD revealed data Monday that shows Android outselling Apple's iPhone, becoming the No. 2 selling smartphone operating system last quarter in America. Android was responsible for 28 percent of all handsets sold, ahead of Apple's 21 percent, but still behind Research in Motion's 36 percent.
The iPhone is only available in two hardware models with three total capacity sizes, and only on one network -- AT&T -- in the U.S. Android, on the other hand, has a multitude of handsets, including the Nexus One, Motoroal Droid, HTC Incredible and more, on a variety of networks.
"As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. "In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones."
Verizon's tactics have paid off, according to NPD. Sales of the Droid, Droid Eris and BlackBerry Curve helped kept Verizon just behind AT&T in sales in the first quarter of 2010. Smartphone sales at AT&T were 32 percent of the U.S. market, followed by 30 percent for Verizon, 17 percent for T-Mobile, and 15 percent for Sprint.
"Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry's willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices," Rubin said. "Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future."
NPD's figures are based on sales data from more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. The results, NPD says, represent the entire population of U.S. consumers.
The numbers are very different from the picture painted earlier this year by ComScore, which found the iPhone to have 25.3 percent of all Web smartphone traffic at the end of 2009, compared with just 5.2 percent for Google's Android.
NPD's study also found that the average price for a smartphone in the first quarter of 2010 was $151, a 3 percent increase from the same three-month period at the start of 2009. Mobile phones in general had an average selling price of $88, up 5 percent year over year.
Last week, data showing international smartphone sales found that the iPhone represented 16.1 percent of the market, after achieving 8.75 million sales in the first calendar quarter of 2010. Apple's market share was behind RIM's BlackBerry, which had 19.4 percent, and Nokia, which carried 39.3 percent.
NPD revealed data Monday that shows Android outselling Apple's iPhone, becoming the No. 2 selling smartphone operating system last quarter in America. Android was responsible for 28 percent of all handsets sold, ahead of Apple's 21 percent, but still behind Research in Motion's 36 percent.
The iPhone is only available in two hardware models with three total capacity sizes, and only on one network -- AT&T -- in the U.S. Android, on the other hand, has a multitude of handsets, including the Nexus One, Motoroal Droid, HTC Incredible and more, on a variety of networks.
"As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. "In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones."
Verizon's tactics have paid off, according to NPD. Sales of the Droid, Droid Eris and BlackBerry Curve helped kept Verizon just behind AT&T in sales in the first quarter of 2010. Smartphone sales at AT&T were 32 percent of the U.S. market, followed by 30 percent for Verizon, 17 percent for T-Mobile, and 15 percent for Sprint.
"Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry's willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices," Rubin said. "Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future."
NPD's figures are based on sales data from more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. The results, NPD says, represent the entire population of U.S. consumers.
The numbers are very different from the picture painted earlier this year by ComScore, which found the iPhone to have 25.3 percent of all Web smartphone traffic at the end of 2009, compared with just 5.2 percent for Google's Android.
NPD's study also found that the average price for a smartphone in the first quarter of 2010 was $151, a 3 percent increase from the same three-month period at the start of 2009. Mobile phones in general had an average selling price of $88, up 5 percent year over year.
Last week, data showing international smartphone sales found that the iPhone represented 16.1 percent of the market, after achieving 8.75 million sales in the first calendar quarter of 2010. Apple's market share was behind RIM's BlackBerry, which had 19.4 percent, and Nokia, which carried 39.3 percent.
Comments
Doesn't seem surprising. There are multiple Android platform phones vs. essentially one iPhone family, and the current iPhone 3GS is nearing the end of its product lifecycle. It's interesting to note that phones such as Motorola's Droid are frequently the object of two-for-the-price-of-one sales and the like.
Exactly. Who in their right mind will buy a 3GS now that the 4thG is on its way? Unless, Apple drops the price dramatically.
Also, when Verizon gives one Android away for free for every one purchased, it is easy to double the share.
All combined computers that run Windows outsell all combined computers that run OS X .
There are two questions that remain: first, will Apple's lawsuit against HTC succeed (which would pretty much take all the wind out of Android sails); and second, will the Android fragmentation continue to hamper development efforts for the platform? If the answer to either (or both) of these is yes, than the current numbers will be irrelevant.
I will be dumping my iPhone and getting an Android device - the reason I have more control over what apps I can run - my choice
there may be lots of unused free phones sitting in the dust bins.
Three versions,
1: Flip
2: Regular iPhone
3: Larger iPhone with more features, storage and connectivity
4: Buy outright and pay as you go options.
5: More carriers
Oh well, I think Steve is just grooming Apple for purchase/merger to Google anyway.
Exactly. Who in their right mind will buy a 3GS now that the 4thG is on its way? Unless, Apple drops the price dramatically.
Why then is the Q3/2009 showing slower growth than Q2? And Q4/2009 a shrink in market share? Shurely people weren't waiting for the iPhone HD at that point in time?
Regs, Jarkko
and so history repeats itself. Apple has always said it would rather design and build a better device than be number 1 seller.
I will be dumping my iPhone and getting an Android device - the reason I have more control over what apps I can run - my choice
More control until they stop updating whatever version of Android the phone you get is running. Which may happen as soon as you get it, or in the time thereafter - but it will happen, and then you won't be able to use most of the "new" apps and maybe not even your old ones.
Hopefully by this time next week, I'll be -1 Android phone. thank god! I'm still not getting an iPhone (will not do AT&T) but anything is better than Android.
No doubt interesting that Android grows in popularity, but the article's graph makes it seem like Apple and RIM are sliding. Yet iPhone sales are on the up and up, as far as I know. It's just that Android sells even more right now. Percentages can be so uninformative.
Keep in mind that the graph is % share - not total numbers - so the "slide" is only as a relative percentage - the chart does not tell you whether or not the entire market number of phones is increasing or decreasing - in other words - while 20% is a smaller percentage that 25% - 20% of 20 million is more than 25% of 15 million for example.
I am definitely one waiting to see what the next iPhone hardware will bring but perhaps even more so what the software and tethering options will be - currently I have a gen 1 iPhone plus a 3G notebook card plus a non-smart phone for the wife - I *would* like to get rid of the notebook card and get at least 3G iPhone for myself and the wife - but not if my monthly bill is going to double.
No doubt interesting that Android grows in popularity, but the article's graph makes it seem like Apple and RIM are sliding. Yet iPhone sales are on the up and up, as far as I know. It's just that Android sells even more right now. Percentages can be so uninformative.
They aren't uninformative. They may be misleading though, at a quick glance.
The question should be what took them so long.
Multiple hardware manufacturers, multiple carriers VS One phone a year, one carrier.
Apple should quit limiting their sales world to ATT if they want those numbers to change in their favor.
THIS is the problem. Verizon has 90 million subscribers and most have said that their first choice for a smartphone would be the iPhone. Apple and others have to get over the idea that they have to wait 4 or 5 years until they fully switch to LTE in order to have a phone on Verizon.
I only hope that Apple didn't trade away a Verizon iPhone so they can get a $30 non-contract iPad data plan from AT&T.
Having said that, in the US, I would think they would be plateauing.
In order to keep revenues growing in this market, it just makes business sense to expand to more carriers regardless of the lower carrier purchase price. I think the volume will make up for the lower per unit carrier price.
That's not even including the higher user base for potential iAd revenue.