Tech nerds were going gaga over this Reuters story that proclaimed that Google (Android) has toppled Nokia (Symbian) as the leading seller of smartphones. Certainly the numbers can be interpreted that way, but it’s a bit of an apples-and-oranges comparison. First of all, Google doesn’t make smartphones; it makes a smartphone OS. Nokia actually sells and makes smartphones. This fact was later added to the article, but the headline is still misleading. Putting that important distinction aside, the numbers are still impressive:
In the fourth quarter, phonemakers sold 32.9 million Android-equipped phones globally, roughly seven times more than the year-earlier quarter, compared with Symbian’s sales of 31 million, according to Research firm Canalys.
Although Samsung and Sony Ericsson offer Symbian phones, the majority of Symbian smartphones are made by Nokia. Compare that to Google Android, which is used in a wide variety of smartphones from a wide variety of manufacturers. The business models are entirely different.
Android vs. Symbian is a boring fight. Depending on your point of view, Nokia is either confused or being glacial with its smartphone strategy. While the company still ships more phones than anyone else in the world, it looks like it will keep losing more and more ground in the immediate future. What’s more interesting — and a juicier topic to debate — is the Apple iOS vs. Google Android battle. Here’s more from Reuters:
The numbers also highlight Google’s success in battling Apple, whose shipments of its popular iPhone increased to 16.2 million from 8.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, when it almost doubled Android’s 4.7 million shipments.
Again, it’s an apples-and-oranges comparison since Apple makes the hardware and software for iPhone. However, there’s no denying that 2010 was a breakout year for Android. In my opinion, the Motorola Droid (released in late 2009) was the first Android phone that truly competed with the iPhone. From there, the Android market snowballed. With a variety of models from numerous manufacturers available on different networks, I knew that Android’s numbers would be gaudy, but I don’t recall anyone predicting that it would grow so much in a short amount of time.
I’m excited to see how 2011 pans out. The iPhone will be available on more carriers than ever before, but will that be enough to slow down Android’s growth? How do you think the smartphone market will play out in 2011? Are people making too big a deal about Android vs. iOS? Will HP WebOS and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 make an impact this year? Can RIM reinvigorate consumer BlackBerry sales with an updated OS? Gaze into your crystal ball and let me know (please)!
