Gartner: Android to command half of global smartphone market by 2012

Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android mobile operating system will power 49.2 percent of the global smartphone market by the end of 2012, according to a new forecast issued by research firm Gartner. Manufacturers will ship more than 630 million smartphones in 2012, Gartner estimates, with Android devices accounting for about 310 million of all units shipped--Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS will power 18.9 percent of all smartphones issued next year, followed by Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry at 12.6 percent, Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 at 10.8 percent and Symbian at 5.2 percent.

Sales of open OS devices will make up 26 percent of all mobile handset sales in 2011 and will surpass the 1 billion mark by 2015, accounting for 47 percent of the total mobile device market by that time, Gartner believes.

"By 2015, 67 percent of all open OS devices will have an average selling price of $300 or below, proving that smartphones have been finally truly democratized," said Gartner principal analyst Roberta Cozza in a prepared statement. "As vendors delivering Android-based devices continue to fight for market share, price will decrease to further benefit consumers. Android's position at the high end of the market will remain strong, but its greatest volume opportunity in the longer term will be in the mid- to low-cost smartphones, above all in emerging markets."

Gartner adds that Nokia's (NYSE:NOK) decision to embrace Windows Phone 7 as its primary smartphone OS will vault WP7 to second place in worldwide market share by 2015. The firm expects Android to power 48.8 percent of all smartphones by that time, with WP 7 at 19.5 percent and iOS at 17.2 percent.

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