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Canalys: Android closing in on 50% global smartphone market share

August 2, 2011 — 10:41am ET | By Jason Ankeny

Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system continues to dominate smartphone ownership across the globe, controlling 48 percent of the worldwide market according to the latest Canalys data. As of the second quarter of 2011, Android is now the leading smartphone platform in 35 of the 56 nations that Canalys tracks, with an astounding 85 percent market share in South Korea and a 71 percent share in Taiwan.

Manufacturers shipped 51.9 million Android units in the second quarter, a 379 percent year-over-year increase, Canalys notes. Asia-Pacific remains Android's largest regional market, with 39.8 million units shipping there--35.0 million shipped to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and another 32.9 million landed in the Americas. Samsung was the largest Android device vendor and the number two vendor overall in the worldwide market, with shipments of its own-branded devices at 17.0 million units.

More than 107.7 smartphones shipped worldwide during the second quarter, an annual increase of 73 percent. Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS is now the second largest smartphone platform at 19 percent, with quarterly iPhone shipments passing the 20.3 million mark. Canalys adds that iOS surpassed the fading Symbian OS during the second quarter as Apple emerged as the world's largest individual smartphone vendor, outstripping longtime leader Nokia (NYSE:NOK).

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) also continues its slide, with its BlackBerry OS falling to worldwide market share of 12 percent, down from 33 percent just a year ago. Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone/Windows Mobile platform is struggling as well: Canalys reports that fewer than 1.5 million Windows-based smartphones shipped over the second quarter, translating to only a 1 percent share of the international market.

Android represents 39 percent of the U.S. market as of June 2011, according to Nielsen data released last week. Apple's iOS is second in the U.S. with 28 percent, with BlackBerry at 20 percent. Rounding out the race for U.S. smartphone market share: Windows Phone/Windows Mobile at 9 percent, HP's webOS at 2 percent and Symbian at 2 percent.

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