Bumper Q4 boosts iPhone market share

by Steven Mostyn - Jan 19 2012, 12:02

Although the sheer number of Android-powered smartphone devices has eaten continually into the dominance of Apple’s iPhone, the latest market projections released by Nielsen suggest the Cupertino-based giant has enjoyed something of a welcome resurgence.

Evidently attracted by the appeal of the widely applauded iPhone 4S handset, Nielsen reports that some 44.5 percent of smartphone buyers opted for an iPhone during the last three months of 2011, which is up markedly from the 25.1 percent measured during the three months before the iPhone 4S was released.

During the tail end of 2011, Android-powered handset units accounted for 46.9 percent of smartphone sales, which equated to a sizable quarterly drop when compared to the 61.9 percent Google’s OS amassed in October.

Despite the recent upturn in iPhone sales, Google’s Android operating system remains the leading smartphone software of choice and holds a 46.3 percent share in the U.S. market.

Apple and its iOS software platform follow behind with 30 percent of the share, while Canadian specialist Research In Motion (RIM) sits in third with 14.9 percent, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 languishes some way distant with just 1.3 percent.

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