Android gains 75 percent market share in Q3, according to IDC

Android is by far the most dominant mobile platform in the smartphone world, according to the latest numbers from research company IDC. How dominant you might ask. Well, 3 out 4 smartphone shipped in the third quarter of 2012 runs on Android.

What You Need To Know:

  • Out of the total 181 million smartphone shipments in the third quarter, 136 million of them were running on Android. That is about 75 percent market share. It is a huge climb from last year in which Android had 57.5 percent share.
  • In distant second place is Apple’s iOS which has 14.9 percent market share. For the quarter, Apple has shipped 26.9 million smartphones. This number might increase in the last quarter of the year with the help of the iPhone 5 sales. The iPhone 5 was released late September.
  • Aside from Android and iOS, the numbers from other players are quite bleak. This has been the trend for the last consecutive quarters.
  • Blackberry and Symbian take 3rd and 4th place spots, respectively. Symbian has experienced the biggest drop for the quarter. As Nokia adopts the Windows Mobile, Symbian might be on its way out.
  • In 5th spot is Windows Mobile. It is expected that the Windows platform could get a huge boost in the last quarter of the year. Recently, the Windows 8 was launched with the Surface tablet, Nokia Lumia 920, and HTC Windows Phone 8x.

Sources:

IDC: Android claims 75 percent of smartphone shipments in Q3, 136 million handsets sold
Engadget

Android scores 75% of market share in Q3, says research firm IDC
Slash Gear

As Android hits 75% market share, can anyone tell me why this is not Mac vs PC all over again?
Venture Beat