Despite Android advances, status quo remains in smart phone market

Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android operating system is beginning to have a pronounced impact on market share for the world’s largest smart phone makers, according to a new report from iSuppli Corp. However, despite the momentum, the three largest smart phone device makers remain unchanged.
The firm noted that the fastest growing smart phone makers during the second quarter of this year were those that have embraced the Android OS led by HTC Corp., which saw its smart phone shipments increase more than 63% between the first and second quarters of the year.
“Every brand that has put effort into designing smart phones using Google’s mobile operating system is riding the Android wave,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli. “From the spectacular growth of HTC and Samsung, to the steady advances of Motorola, Android is the secret sauce for smart phone growth for many companies in 2010.”
However, despite the strong growth of Android, the three largest smart phone makers during the second quarter shun Google’s OS in favor of their own platform.
According to iSuppli’s figures, Nokia Corp. (NOK) remained the world’s largest provider of smart phones selling more than 24 million devices during the second quarter and garnering 39.7% of the market. Nokia managed to increase its market share from the 38.5% it controlled during the first quarter of the year. All of Nokia’s devices run the company’s Symbian operating system.
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) slotted into the No. 2 position selling 11.2 million devices during the quarter and picking up 18.5% of the smart phone market worldwide. The carrier, which exclusively uses its BlackBerry OS, saw its total market share drop slightly from the 18.8% it controlled during the first three months of the year.
No. 3 on the list is Apple Inc. (AAPL), which relies exclusively on its proprietary iOS platform for its iPhone devices. The company controlled 13.9% of the worldwide smart phone market at the end of the second quarter, which was down from the 15.7% it controlled during the first quarter.
“Apple’s decline in the second quarter was because of the transition from the iPhone 3G S to the iPhone 4,” iSuppli noted in its report. “The iPhone 3G S was reaching the end of its life, causing sales to drop off. Meanwhile, Apple had trouble keeping up with iPhone 4 demand, resulting in the small decline in shipments.”
HTC grabbed the No. 4 slot with 8% market share at the end of the second quarter, an increase from the 5.3% the company had at the end of the first quarter. Though the company also offers devices running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile OS, iSuppli noted the strong growth in sales of Android-powered devices fueled HTC’s sequential growth.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. rounded out the top five grabbing 4.6% of the worldwide smart phone market share, a nice increase from the 3.2% it controlled at the end of the first quarter. Similar to HTC, Samsung also offers devices using Microsoft’s OS, but saw its market share boosted by the launch of new Android-powered devices.