Our remarkably insightful weekly poll results last summer may have suggested our mobile iGaming readership were more prone to a bit of Apple lovin’, with 37% preferring Apple’s iPhone over Android devices. However, a recent study performed by research firm Gartner suggests things may change.
According to Gartner’s figures, Android claimed over half of the smartphone market share in the last three months of 2011. Apparently, this was down to the market witnessing huge growth in Q4 last year with sales to end-users reaching 149 million units. That’s a 47.3% increase from the fourth quarter in 2010.
This boost in sales resulted in Android claiming 50.9% of the smartphone market – up from 30.5% in the same quarter in 2010 – making one in two of the world’s smartphones a Google’s mobile OS.
Nevertheless where there’s Android, you can guarantee Apple will never be lurking too far away. Gartner’s figures also demonstrated an increase in market share for Apple’s iOS system in Q4, but substantially less than Android at 23.8%. Still, that’s up from 15.8% in 2010.
With its smartphone market report, Gartner also estimated Apple will see its iPhone market share slipping for a couple of quarters as the novelty of its latest 4S model runs out.
Apple saw its iPhone sales more than double in the last quarter when it took a 24% share of the smartphone market, helped by a 15-month period of pure hype before the 4S model was launched. Gartner guestimated that Apple’s strong performance will continue into the first quarter of 2012 as availability of the iPhone 4S widens, but without the benefit from delayed purchase hype and sales, will decline from the previous quarter.
With the hotly anticipated iPad 3 launch looming, Apple haven’t got too much to worry about in terms of novelty loss. And for iGamers, tablets are just as important as smartphones. Why gamble on a 3 inch screen when you can gamble, just as effortlessly on one triple the size?
Word on the street is we’ll see an iPad 3 launch on 7 March. Rumours are darting around the internet like a hamster on speed. The latest speculation suggests Apple are working with component suppliers in Asia to test a new tablet with a smaller screen, i.e. an iPad mini. Though, our mamas told us not to believe everything we are told. But regardless of all the hype and ruours, what we want to know is: what do our reaers prefer for iGaming? Smartphones or tablets? Let us know.
