by Bruce Tyson

Created on: July 15, 2010

Apple iPhone continues to top the list of leading smartphone products, allaying speculation that Android is poised to compete. A report issued by Millennial Media shows that the perceived strength of Android-powered products has been erased by recent market share gains by Apple. Data for the study came from June, a month where the new iPhone 4 was available for one week. The August report will include numbers from July, a month where numerous security failures, a major design flaw, and high profile legal case threaten to impact the hands down market leader.

> Market Share by Manufacturer

Analysis provided by Millennial Media indicates that iPhone enjoyed a strong 4% gain in sales over May, delivering nearly 30% of all smartphone sales to Apple. The number two smartphone maker, Samsung and number three RIM each saw their market share shrink over the same time period. In the study, Motorola rose to the number four position in spite of its shrinking piece of the market. HTC and LG were the only other smartphone vendors that managed to eke out more than 5% of smartphone sales.

> Market Share by Phone

From the perspective of handset sales, Apple still scored impressive gains over May figures. With more than 22% of all smartphones sold being iPhones, the Apple device outsold the number two Blackberry Curve by a 3-1 margin. Of course, the unfairness of comparing this number becomes evident considering that Apple has only one model of phone while most other manufacturers have sales split across multiple models.

> Market Share by Operating System

Because of discrepancies when comparing handset sales, operating system popularity may provide a more reliable method of gauging market conditions. By this measure, Apple still appears strong, seeing that more than half (56%) of all smartphones sold in June run the Apple operating system (iOS). This is an 8% gain over the previous month. In comparison, only 17% of smartphones sold run RIM and just 11% are equipped with Android. Apple can offer a sigh of relief because the competition isn't even close. 

> Developer Market Share

Because the platform with the most developers is likely to be the one with the most momentum, the Millennial Media data is even more enlightening: Nearly 60% of all single-platform developers are working on iPhone applications and only half that number is engaged in Android development. Only 8% of developers are writing apps for Blackberry, a number that may portend further market degradation of that brand.

> The Bottom Line

Although data may be skewed due to the release of the iPhone 4, numbers released next month should clarify the significance of the current Apple uptrend, especially since those numbers will include the potentially harmful effects of the security, design and legal problems currently surrounding Apple.

All told, data indicate that Apple sales continue to build strength in spite of what was perceived as growing competition from Android. Perhaps Android is fueled more by wishful thinking than than it is by attributes that appeal to the market.

Sources:

Warren, Christina. "iOS vs Android: The Latest Numbers." Mashable. July 15, 2010. http://mashable.com/2010/07/15/mobile-mix-june/?utm_ source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29 (accessed July 15, 2010).

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