Adding to a growing chorus of good news for Google, Inc. about its mobile operating system, a new study by the Research firm IDC sees Android shooting past Research in Motion’s BlackBerry to seize second place in the global smartphone market by 2014.
IDC sees Android’s share growing by more than 50 percent from 16.3 to 24.6 in the next four years, leaving it trailing only Nokia’s Symbian in activations on mobile devices. But the firm said Symbian will continue slipping, losing 18 percent of its base with a drop from 40.1 to 32.9 percent.
Fallen Apple?
There’s bad news for Apple, too. It’s iOS will slip 25 percent from 14.7 percent to 10.9, IDC says. But many analysts note that, considering Apple only sells versions of one device, currently only on one carrier (though that’s likely to change), holding onto that kind of market share against rivals with multiple models on several carriers is impressive.
While Windows Mobile would see a 43 percent boost in IDC’s projection, it would only be to a slightly less abysmal spot, up from 6.8 to 9.8 percent and still last among the top players.
IDC’s research is based on interviews with vendors, proprietary advance information, distribution feeds and other data. The company said a range of new phone introductions had led to a 55 percent increase in the smartphone market over 2009. IDC senior analyst Ramon Llamas said in a statement that Android’s design made it increasingly popular to carriers, application developers and users.
“Phone vendors have been drawn to Android because it allows them to present their own approach to what a smartphone experience can be,” said Llamas. “In addition, users have quickly warmed to Android, comparing it to iOS due to its ease of use and a growing mobile application storefront. Now that HTC and Motorola have…