DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android mobile software system dominated
the U.S. smartphone market in 2011, representing a share of about
53%, according to research firm NPD Group.
Android phones and Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone continued to take
market share from former market leader Research In Motion Ltd.
(RIMM, RIM.T) and others this year. Apple's share reached 29%,
while BlackBerry maker Research In Motion's share fell to 11%.
"The competitive landscape for smartphones, which has been
reshaped by Apple and Google, has ultimately forced every major
handset provider through a major transition," said Ross Rubin, an
executive director at NPD Group. "For many of them, 2012 will be a
critical year in assessing how effective their responses have
been."
Research In Motion, which accounted for half of all smartphone
sales in the second quarter of 2006, had slid to an 8% share in the
third quarter of this year, NPD said. The company, which is
preparing to introduce smartphones on its next-generation platform,
has been making incremental improvements this year with its release
of the BlackBerry 7 system. Research In Motion is now No. 5 among
smartphone original-equipment manufacturers, behind Apple, HTC
Corp. (2498.TW, HTCXF), Samsung Electronics (005930.SE, SSNHY) and
Motorola.
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) has benefited from the
adoption of Android, which boosted its share of smartphone sales to
16% in the fourth quarter of 2010, before it settled back to 12% in
the third quarter of this year, NPD said.
Google, which is in the process of acquiring Motorola Mobility
in a $12.5 billion deal, is expected to use the company's patent
pool to protect other Android licenses, according to Rubin.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
tess.stynes@dowjones.com