NPD: Android Phones Outsold the iPhone Last Quarter

By Geoff Duncan May 10, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

New figures from market analysis firm NPD have delivered a bit of a blow to Apple’s seeming hegemony of the smartphone market. According to NPD, phones running the Android operating system outsold the Apple iPhone in the U.S. smartphone market during the first quarter of 2010: Android accounted for 28 percent of smartphone sales, compared to 21 percent for the Apple iPhone.

Of course, a 28 percent share is only enough to move the Android operating system into second place. The smartphone sales leader in the U.S. market is still RIM’s BlackBerry line, with a 36 percent share.

“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said NPD executive director of industry analysis Ross Rubin, in a statement. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.”

According to NPD, Verizon Wireless’s promotion of the Android-running Droid and Droid Eris—along with the BlackBerry Curve—helped the company keep up with AT&T during the first quarter. By carrier, AT&T remained the dominant player in the smartphone market for the quarter with a 32 percent share. Verizon Wireless came in second with a 30 percent share, followed by T-Mobile and Sprint with 17 and 15 percent shares, respectively.

It’s important to remember that Apple essentially sells one phone—the iPhone 3GS—and that’s competing against a number of Android devices and BlackBerries: on a per-device basis, the singular iPhone has been a tremendous success.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Mobile

Google is making it easier to ditch your iPhone for an Android phone

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro in hand.

Switching phones is never a smooth process, even if you’re switching between two different Android phones. However, when you’re trying to switch from an iPhone to Android or vice versa, it can be extra complicated -- and you can lose data and apps that you rely on. This is especially the case with Apple-to-Android transfers because the iPhone has a much stronger ecosystem lock-in with things like iMessage, iCloud backups, and exclusive apps like Overcast and Hyperlapse.

The good news is that with its Data Transfer Tool (also called Pixel Migrate on Pixel devices), Google may be trying to mitigate some of the phone-switching problems that arise -- specifically, losing access to your Live Photos. According to an APK teardown from Android Authority, Google’s Data Transfer Tool will finally resolve the problem of migrating iOS Live Photos to Android. It will do this by converting them over as Motion Photos.

Mobile

Best prepaid phone deals: Android, iPhone, flip phone

episode 209 https cdn cnn com cnnnext dam assets 190910135448 20190910 apple event iphone 11 02

While many of the best phone deals include great cell phone plan deals when you purchase them, sometimes the best phone is a prepaid one. This is especially true with the prices many of the best phones come in at these days. Prepaid phones are great for budget shoppers, so whether you’re pinching pennies, shopping for a child’s first phone, or anything in between, we’ve rounded up all of the best prepaid phone deals out there right now. Read onward for more of those details, and if you’d like to see some other affordable phone options before deciding on a prepaid phone be sure to check out all of the refurbished iPhone deals, iPhone SE deals, iPhone 14 deals, Samsung Galaxy S22 deals, and Samsung Galaxy S23 deals taking place right now.
Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy A03s -- $40, was $60

Samsung makes some of the best phones on the market, and while the Galaxy A03s might not fall under that banner, it is a great budget phone. It has a 6.5-inch HD+ with a 60Hz refresh rate, which is pretty solid, and the 3GB of RAM is not too bad either. That said, it only has 32GB of internal storage, although that can be upgraded with a MicroSD card, so it's not so bad. The phone comes paired with a Straight Talk plan, which you can get for as low as $15 a month.

Mobile

Don’t expect a folding iPhone anytime soon

Concept render of foldable iPhone.

Samsung is expected to reveal the sixth-generation Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip in July. And what about Apple? A new report suggests the first foldable iPhone might not arrive until 2027 -- two years later than a previous rumor suggested.

According to TrendForce, “Apple is still evaluating component specifications and performance, with strict requirements for crease and reliability.” Further, “(Apple’s) entry could significantly shift market dynamics.” TrendForce monitors and forecasts demand for smartphone components.