Gartner, the technology research and advisory company, predicts that Android will become No. 2 mobile operating system Worldwide in 2010 and by 2014 Android will challenge Nokia’s Symbian for No. 1 position.
In a press release, Gartner said that Android and Symbian will have the worldwide market share of 58% on mobile OS by 2014. Although Symbian will still be the No.1 at the end of 2014, but only by a very small margin. For all practical purposes, one can consider that both Symbian and Android share the No. 1 spot for sometime.
Android No. 2 Worldwide and No.1 in N.America by 2010
The growth of Android market share powered by multiple OEMs is phenomenal. Android is predicted to grow from 3.9% market share in 2009 to ~18% in 2010 and ~30% in 2014. One of the reasons for such a growth is the launch plan of many new budget Android devices by Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, and Motorola. Gartner says that a trend like this will make Android the top OS in North America by the end of 2010.
Gartner also predicts that Apple’s iOS and Research In Motion’s OS’ growth rate will be below market average and will not be enough to gain to more market share. Also, Microsoft’s Windows Phone share will continue to decrease.
Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, said
The worldwide mobile OS market is dominated by four players: Symbian, Android, Research In Motion and iOS. 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. However, we believe that market share in the OS space will consolidate around a few key OS providers that have the most support from CSPs and developers and strong brand awareness with consumer and enterprise customers.
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