iPhone 4S enables Apple to rally against Android

by Steven Mostyn - Dec 23 2011, 11:47

The iPhone 4S handset has helped Apple Inc. partially deflect the challenge of Google Android and reverse any waning consumer interest in its iconic smartphone, according to a new UK-focused industry study.

Specifically, analysts at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech have found that Apple’s smartphone market share across the pond rose by almost 10 percent between November 2010 and November 2011—shifting from 21.4 percent to 30.9 percent.

That being said, Google’s popular Android operating software continues to spread through numerous smartphone vendors (i.e., HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung) and its share has grown year-on-year from 34.8 percent to 46.6 percent.

It’s not all good news for certain smartphone specialists however, with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) dropping from 22.2 percent in 2010 to 16.9 percent in 2011.

Also, with Nokia having recently abandoned Symbian, the software platform’s share in the UK market has plummeted from 17.1 percent to a measly 3.2 percent.

Unfortunately for Apple, its smartphone momentum in the UK doesn’t carry through to mainland Europe, where Google Android has asserted a much clearer dominance.

For example, Android’s market share in Germany has leapt from 17.1 percent in 2010 to a staggering 61 percent in 2011, while the iPhone has dropped from 27.1 percent to 21.9 percent during the same period.

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