Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

NPD: Android Phones Outsold the iPhone Last Quarter

Geoff Duncan
By

New figures from market analysis firm NPD have delivered a bit of a blow to Apple’s seeming hegemony of the smartphone market. According to NPD, phones running the Android operating system outsold the Apple iPhone in the U.S. smartphone market during the first quarter of 2010: Android accounted for 28 percent of smartphone sales, compared to 21 percent for the Apple iPhone.

Of course, a 28 percent share is only enough to move the Android operating system into second place. The smartphone sales leader in the U.S. market is still RIM’s BlackBerry line, with a 36 percent share.

Related Videos

“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said NPD executive director of industry analysis Ross Rubin, in a statement. “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.”

According to NPD, Verizon Wireless’s promotion of the Android-running Droid and Droid Eris—along with the BlackBerry Curve—helped the company keep up with AT&T during the first quarter. By carrier, AT&T remained the dominant player in the smartphone market for the quarter with a 32 percent share. Verizon Wireless came in second with a 30 percent share, followed by T-Mobile and Sprint with 17 and 15 percent shares, respectively.

It’s important to remember that Apple essentially sells one phone—the iPhone 3GS—and that’s competing against a number of Android devices and BlackBerries: on a per-device basis, the singular iPhone has been a tremendous success.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Samsung may have just killed the Galaxy S10
Galaxy S10 Plus.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 was an excellent addition to Samsung's hardware lineup in 2019, but it seems like it's finally being sunset by the company after one final update.

According to Droid Life, this week saw what's likely to be the Galaxy S10's final security update before its official support ends. While it's not confirmed that S10 owners won't see another update if something major needs to be patched, it seems like this might be it for the smartphone line in terms of regularly scheduled updates.

Read more
How to replace lost or broken AirPods, AirPods Pro, or cases
Apple AirPods Pro 2 inside their charging case.

Since the first pair of Apple's AirPods arrived in 2016, they've revolutionized the way we listen to music, work, and even how we consume movies and TV thanks to new tech like Spatial Audio. But let's face it: they're very tiny, easy to lose, and even easier to break.

With the latest AirPods Pro 2 running a steep $249, the third-gen of the AirPods demanding $179, and the big-boy AirPods Max coming in at a substantial $549, should something happen to them, you're going to want to know how to replace or repair them or their charging cases.

Read more
Your phone may play a loud alarm on April 23 — here’s why
Deep purple iPhone 14 Pro and Cream Galaxy S23 cameras closeup

Most governments have the ability to send nationwide alerts to their citizens via smartphone notifications, and the U.K. is planning on doing just that on April 23. As a test of a new emergency alert system, the U.K. government is warning everyone now that U.K. citizens should expect their phones to all sound off together in a few weeks.

The nationwide alarm is a feature that isn't used very often. That doesn't diminish its importance, though, as it has taken the place of nationwide TV and radio broadcasts that warn citizens about potential threats in their area, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or missing children.

Read more