Gartner: Android closes in on mobile OS top spot

Google’s Android could be on the verge of becoming the world’s largest smartphone operating system by 2014, according to new figures from Gartner. The research firm forecasts that by this point there will be less than one percentage point between Symbian (30.2 percent) and Android (29.6 percent) in terms of OS sales market share. The Gartner numbers suggest a more aggressive uptake of Android devices than a similar study published last week by IDC. The earlier study had Android commanding a 24.6 percent market share by 2014, some way behind Symbian on 32.9 percent. Moreover, Gartner forecasts that Android will overtake BlackBerry to become the second-largest mobile OS (after Symbian) by the end of this year. This is almost two years earlier than Gartner predicted a year ago.

Like IDC, the Gartner figures suggest that the market will continue to support multiple platforms over the next few years. “Launches of updated operating systems — such as Apple iOS 4, BlackBerry OS 6, Symbian 3 and Symbian 4, and Windows Phone 7 — will help maintain strong growth in smartphones in 2H10 and 2011 and spur innovation,” said Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza.  “However, we believe that market share in the OS space will consolidate around a few key OS providers that have the most support from [service providers] and developers and strong brand awareness with consumer and enterprise customers.”

Mobile Communications Device Open OS Sales to End Users by OS (Thousands of Units)
Source: Gartner (August 2010)