Nielsen reported Monday that 28 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers had smartphones in the third quarter — up from 25 percent in the prior three months and 23 percent at the end of March. And among those who acquired a new cell phone in the past six months, 41 percent opted for a smartphone over a standard feature phone — up from 35 percent at the end of June.
The advertising-ratings agency cited several factors behind accelerated smartphone adoption rates, including the high visibility of Apple’s iPhone as well as the launch of new Android-powered handsets. Analysts have high expectations for Google’s Android in the current quarter, since there are enough new Android-based smartphones out for the holidays to once again drive market-leading growth at the expense of rival Research In Motion.
“We do expect Android to ramp up to being the second leading OS worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2010,” noted Gartner Research Vice President Carolina Milanesi in an e-mail.
RIM’s Challenge
However, Google still faces the problem of having different versions of Android in the market at the same time, which is a headache for developers and consumers alike, Milanesi noted last month in a blog.
“We believe this will become less of an issue as the OS matures and improvements become more cyclical,” Milanesi observed. “On the UI side, Google itself has mentioned this and the intention with Gingerbread [Android version 2.3] to start addressing UI differentiation in the attempt to deliver more of a ‘One Android Experience’.”
Meanwhile, RIM is struggling to appeal to a wider consumer audience, even as the BlackBerry maker is being attacked in the enterprise space. “Appealing to consumers beyond their messaging and e-mail proposition becomes crucial,” Milanesi wrote. “Sales are still good, but competition is growing and apps and touch are becoming a bigger…