Apple questions Android market share report

by Steve Ragan - May 13 2010, 05:30

Apple has questioned the validity of an NPD Group report based on unit sales that said Android-based Smartphones have outsold the competition in Q1 2010, pushing the iPhone’s market share down to third place.

The NPD report itself is the result of a consumer study during Q1 2010 that included 450,000 customers. According to the report notes, The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month.

The new quarterly figures leave RIM in the top spot, with Blackberry devices accounting for 36 percent of the Smartphone market, while Android-based devices trailed by just eight points, holding the second position with 28 percent of the Smartphone market. Apple’s iPhone, with 21 percent market share, moved down to third place.

Speaking to Reuters, spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said that NPD didn’t provide the complete picture, and noted that the report was “very limited” based on “150,000 U.S. consumers responding to an online survey and does not account for the more than 85 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide.”

She added that the iPhone outsells Android on a worldwide basis and cited an IDC report that recently showed the iPhone pushing a 16 percent global market share, handing the iPhone a solid third place ranking behind RIM and Nokia Oyj.

“We had a record quarter with iPhone sales growing by 131 percent and with our new iPhone OS 4.0 software coming this summer, we see no signs of the competition catching up any time soon,” Harrison added.

Once the statement was made, many questioned the addition of global figures to a US based sales report. Essentially, the survey talked to US consumers to ascertain what device they currently owned. Given that the iPod Touch is not a Smartphone, there is no reason for it to be included.

Other questions raised the count issue. Was the NPD report based on 150,000 responses alone or 150,000 responses a month over the quarter? NPD said they compile data from 150,000 responses monthly, so the assumption based on their statements is that the final figures come from 450,000 total responses. NPD has not responded to questions asking for clarification.

While many would call NPD’s numbers into question, considering the buy-one-get-one nature of Verizon and their Android line of phones, the trending growth of devices using Android is a fact the market place cannot avoid.

Just this week, LG became the newest manufacturer to offer a Android device with the pending release of the LG Ally on May 20.

Around the Web