Android shines in latest mobile Web report from Quantcast

Android’s share of mobile Web consumption has hit overdrive in the past few months, according to a new report from Quantcast Corp. While other operating systems are losing share to Android as well, the biggest loser appears to be Apple Inc.
Shares for Google Inc.’s Android operating system of mobile Web traffic jumped 12.2% in the 12-month period ending in May while Apple’s iOS share dropped 8.1% in the same period. According to Quantcast’s data, Android’s been on a particularly impressive tear in the last three months when its share rose 4.6% as iOS dropped 4.7%.
At least some of that growth can be attributed to the incredibly fast growing arsenal of Android devices hitting the market, most recently HTC Corp.’s Evo 4G at Sprint Nextel Corp. Later this summer we’ll see if Android’s upward trend can hold as Apple’s iPad and new iPhone 4 gain momentum.
To be sure, it’s hard to know which report or data-collection method to believe when it comes to mobile operating systems. One metrics firm will hype Android’s surge based on its growing share of mobile browser usage and another will downplay Android’s position with data that shows the OS commands mobile ad requests only in the single digits.
Last month, the latest JiWire Mobile Audience Insights research report showed that the iOS accounted for 95.4% of all mobile ad requests while Android grabbed only 2.3% in the same study. Keep in mind, however, that only about 2,000 respondents were surveyed for that report.
In a chart from Quantcast dating back to January 2009, Android’s share of mobile Web traffic was in the mid-to-upper single digits while iOS neared 80%. While Android’s share has undeniably increased of late, its latest climb didn’t begin until around August 2009 or about 10 months ago.
Quantcast’s latest figures pinned iOS at the top of the mobile Web usage chart with 58.8%. Android followed in a distant second at 19.9%, others commanded 10.9% and Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry OS grabbed 10.4% of the market at the end of May.