Google’s Android mobile operating system overtook RIM’s BlackBerry globally for the first time on a monthly basis in February according to web analytics company, StatCounter (http://www.statcounter.com).
Its research arm StatCounter Global Stats finds that Android recorded 15.2% of the worldwide market compared to 14.5% for BlackBerry. Nokia’s Symbian still leads the global market with 30.7% with Apple’s iOS in second place with 24.6%.
StatCounter data also pinpoints the rise and rise of mobile devices to access the Internet. The use of mobile to access the Internet compared to desktop has more than doubled worldwide from 1.72% a year ago to 4.45% today. The same trend is evident in the US with mobile Internet usage more than doubling over the past year from 2.59% to 6.32%.
“The momentum is certainly with Android which has almost tripled its market share over the last 12 months from 5.4% to 15.2%,” says Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. In the same period iOS fell globally from 33.9% to 24.6%, he adds.
In North America Android at 26.4% in February also overtook BlackBerry at 22.2%. iOS leads the North American market with 37.5%. Compared to its global presence Symbian is well back in North America with 5.7%.
StatCounter, which specializes in website analytics for organizations and bloggers, provides free lifetime stats and free detailed analysis on the latest 500 hits. Members can upgrade to access more detailed stats from US$5 a month. StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 15 billion page views per month from the StatCounter network of more than three million websites.
