Google's Android operating system continued to dominate U.S.
smartphone market share, accounting for 52 percent of units sold in the
second quarter of 2011, according to market research company The NPD
Group. Like Android, Apple's iPhone iOS experienced slight quarterly
gain rising to 29 percent in Q2; however, BlackBerry OS share fell to
11 percent, as Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile and webOS held steady at
less than 5 percent of the market each.
"Google's acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the
handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system
competitors," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis
for NPD. "Android's momentum has made for a large pie that is
attractive to Motorola's Android rivals, even if they must compete with
their operating system developer."
Motorola's overall mobile phone market share declined 3 percentage
points, from 12 percent in Q2 2010 to 9 percent in Q2 2011. The
company's share of the smartphone market also declined from 15 percent
to 12 percent. Motorola's year-over-year unit share of Android OS sales
halved from 44 percent in Q2 of last year to 22 percent in Q2 of 2011,
as Samsung and LG both experienced substantial gains.
"Much as it did in the feature phone market in the RAZR era,
Motorola is experiencing increased competition from Samsung and LG in
the smartphone market," Rubin said. "Closer ties to the heart of
Android can help inspire new paths to differentiation."
Beyond the four largest national carriers, Motorola can also make up
ground in the rapidly growing pre-paid smartphone market, according to
the report. Based on the latest information from NPD's "Mobile Phone
Track," one in five new handsets acquired in Q2 was on a prepaid plan,
and carriers offering prepaid mobile phones continued to grow their
smartphone portfolios. In Q2 2010 just 8 percent of prepaid phones were
smartphones, but in Q2 2011 that number jumped to 22 percent.
"Android is also leading the charge in the rapidly growing prepaid
smartphone market," Rubin said. "This was once a key segment for
Motorola that the company has an opportunity to reclaim as prepaid
carriers build their smartphone portfolios."
IT research specialist In-Stat recently forecast that within five
years, more than 200 million people in the United States will own a
smartphone and/or a tablet PC. This market trend will have a huge
impact on how video entertainment is acquired and consumed, the company
noted.
“To track the use of mobile devices for entertainment purposes,
In-Stat has introduced a unique research service called the US
Multiscreen Video Database,” says Keith Nissen, In-Stat research
director. “The US Multiscreen Video Database quantifies consumption and
interaction with video entertainment on mobile devices both outside and
inside the home. This new research complements that of the US
Digital Entertainment Database, which tracks the rapidly evolving
online/pay-TV video market.”
The report’s five-year forecasts indicate that by 2015 86 percent of
smartphone/tablet users will view video on their mobile devices and
nearly 60 percent of smartphone/tablet owners will also be viewing OTT
video at home. In addition, it is forecast that there will be nearly
two smartphone/tablet owners per OTT household. The average Apple
household will have four Apple devices, while the average Google
Android household will have over two Android devices.
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