If you’ve been throwing up your geeky gang signs, claiming Team iPhone or Team Android – we have a startling report to share. After analyzing a more international look at smartphone market share for the start of 2012, and IDC is now more than willing to oblige in the age old battle of who’s outranging who. In case you’d thought Android’s relentless march upwards was just an American thing, Google’s OS has jumped from 36.1 percent of the world’s share a year ago to exactly 59 percent in the first quarter of this year. That’s nearly two thirds of all smartphones, folks. As we’ve seen in the past, Android is siphoning off legacy users looking for something fresher: Symbian and the BlackBerry have both lost more than half of their share in one year’s time, while Linux (led mostly by Bada) and Windows Mobile / Phone together lost small pieces of the pie despite raw shipment numbers going up. As for Apple? Even with all the heat in the kitchen, the iPhone’s share grew to 23 percent, leading to a staggering 82 percent of smartphone buyers siding with the smartphone giant.
Do you currently own an Android or iPhone device? Which one do you prefer and why? Sound off below…
