Global smartphone sales grew 50.5 percent year over year to 61.6 million in the second quarter, Gartner said Thursday. Moreover, sales of Android-based smartphones were robust, with Google’s mobile operating system leaping past Apple’s iOS to become the third most popular platform worldwide.
In the United States, Android overtook Research In Motion’s BlackBerry and led the smartphone OS market with a 34.1 percent share. By contrast, Android held a mere 3.9 percent share in the same period last year, noted Gartner Research Vice President Carolina Milanesi. “We are expecting Android to become the second-largest OS at a worldwide level before the end of the year,” Milanesi said.
Apple’s Sustained Momentum
Sales of Apple’s iPad, which enjoyed successful international launches during the quarter, had no impact on the smartphone market, Milanesi noted. “We believe that most tablet users still feel the need for a truly pocketable, yet highly capable, device for those situations when it’s inconvenient to carry a device with a larger form factor,” she explained.
New smartphones from Apple, HTC and Motorola helped drive strong sales in the quarter. However, shortages of active-matrix organic LED (AMOLED) displays and other crucial components impaired sales of some of the more popular new smartphones, the research firm observed.
Apple’s mobile-device sales reached 8.7 million and accounted for 14.2 percent of the smartphone market in the quarter. Gartner analysts noted that Apple’s sales would have been even higher if it had not been forced to tightly manage inventory in advance of the iPhone 4’s launch.
Furthermore, Gartner said Apple’s sales suffered from some iPhone 4 supply constraints. The research firm expects a wider global rollout of iPhone 4 will sustain Apple’s sales momentum throughout the second half of 2010.
Given that the iPhone 4’s antenna problems didn’t come to light until after the end of the second quarter,…