Google's Android operating system accounted for 40% of smartphone visits to Myxer's mobile entertainment-content site in December 2010, up from 12% a year earlier, toppling the once unshakable BlackBerry from its leadership position for the first time, according to a report by Myxer.
Among smartphone operating systems:
- BlackBerry took the biggest hit in 2010, accounting for 38% of the smartphone operating system (OS) share, down from 67% one year earlier.
- iPhone's share remained relatively constant, growing from 4% in December 2009 to 5% a year later.
- Windows Mobile's OS share was nearly constant, from 11% in 2009, to 12% in 2010.
- Symbian increased its share to 3% in 2010, up from 1% a year earlier, while Palm occupied the smallest percentage of market share (2%), down from 5% in 2009.
Below, other findings from Myxer's Boombox Report, 2010: Year in Review, which explores downloads of Myxer's mobile entertainment content.*
In December 2010, Android overtook BlackBerry as the leading smartphone in visits to Myxer's mobile platform, growing 243% over the previous year. Meanwhile, visits form BlackBerry handsets fell 23% in the same period, and iPhone traffic remained relatively flat.
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Android Handset Mix
A key factor in Android's ascension is the rapidly growing number of Android-based devices available in the marketplace. For example, in December 2009, Myxer served download requests from users of 10 types of Android devices. By December 2010, that level had grown to 80 Android-based devices, though the number of recognized Android handsets stored in Myxer's database was higher (101):
By contrast, in December 2010 there were three different iOS (Apple) devices and 44 BlackBerry devices visiting Myxer's mobile content platform.
User Concentration by State: iPhone vs. Android
The iPhone was dominant in 37 states across the US in January 2010—measured by numbers of registered users on Myxer's platform—but had fallen to 17 states by December 2010. Android, which controlled eight states in January, grew to 26 states by December.
Seven states were "swing states" at the end of 2010—i.e., too close to determine a conclusive winner.
* Mobile entertainment downloads consist of ringtones, wallpapers, videos, applications, and games.
About the data: Findings are based on the activity of nearly 43 million unique registered visitors who completed more than 1 billion downloads of mobile content across smartphone platforms from Dec 2009 to Dec 2010.
