Google has followed up its patent acquisition earlier this month by solidifying its lead at the top of the US smart phone market. Android stayed solid at the top of the pile with 52% according to a report produced by the NPD Group. The OS’s closest challenger was Apple that saw a slight rise in its share to 29%. Losing ground in third was Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry OS with just 11%. The remaining firms all own less than 5% of the market. You feel it won’t be long until Windows Phone 7 starts to make gains though.
Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, commented, “Google’s acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors. Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer.”
Even though the deal with Google might be very good for Motorola’s future, they are suffering right now. The company’s share of the smart phone market declined to 12% down from 15% in 2010. It’s mainly down to increased competition from better handsets being brought to the table by the likes of Samsung and HTC.
Rubin added, “Much as it did in the feature phone market in the RAZR era, Motorola is experiencing increased competition from Samsung and LG in the smart phone market. Closer ties to the heart of Android can help inspire new paths to differentiation.”
As much as the deal was all about patents for Google, it will be a huge help to Motorola as they aim to compete at the top end with Android’s other smart phone manufacturers.
