It's never a surprise anymore when a fresh report indicates how Google (GOOG 0.15%) and Apple (AAPL +1.20%) are cornering the smartphone market.
Microsoft (MSFT +1.11%) may be willing to invest billions in its fledgling Windows Phone mobile operating system and Research In Motion (RIMM 3.38%) is proving to be a tenacious pioneer with 80 million global BlackBerry accounts, but there's no denying that this country is all about Android and iOS.
Tech tracker comScore put out its latest read on the smartphone market yesterday. A lot can happen in three months when it comes to swings in this country's smartphone market share.
| Operating System |
May Market Share |
August Market Share |
|---|---|---|
|
Android |
50.9% |
52.6% |
|
iOS |
31.9% |
34.3% |
|
BlackBerry |
11.4% |
8.3% |
|
Windows Phone |
4% |
3.6% |
|
Symbian |
1.1% |
0.7% |
Source: comScore.
The meatiest takeaway here is that Android handsets and iPhones have gone from accounting for an impressive 82.8% of this country's smartphone subscribers in May to a freakishly impressive 86.9% in August.
Things can change, of course. Several hyped handsets running the upcoming Windows Phone 8 platform will hit the market later this month. RIM still has its corporate stronghold, and the eventual release of BB 10 could renew waning domestic interest in BlackBerry.
Symbian is toast. It's the mobile operating system that Nokia (NOK +5.48%) was championing before accepting Microsoft's billions to back Windows Phone. However, you never know if another disruptor is lurking in the wings.
Is it likely that Android and iOS will yield control of this booming market? No. Apple's iPhone 5 came out the month after comScore's study, so you know that Apple was gaining ground last month. Between Apple's iOS on the high end and Android as the open-source choice for the masses, there's not a lot of room for a third player. It's hard to secure developer support when you only watch over a sliver of a market, even though -- once again -- Microsoft hasn't shied away from cutting big checks to fall into favor.
Google and Apple keep running away with this market, and everybody else is running out of time.
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