Android adoption doubled iOS over past three months, Nielsen finds

Twice as many consumers in the U.S. purchased Android smartphones compared to Apple’s iPhone over the past three months, according to new data just released by The Nielsen Company. The market research firm found that of those consumers who purchased a new smartphone during the three-month period ending in August, 58% purchased an Android device while 28% purchased either the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 3GS. Only 9% purchased a new BlackBerry smartphone, though the time period covered by Nielsen’s survey ended prior to the release of RIM’s new BlackBerry 7 handsets. Read on for more.
In terms of smartphone platform market share as of the month of August, Nielsen shows that 43% of smartphone owners had an Android device, 28% had an iOS smartphone and 18% owned a BlackBerry. Looking forward to the fourth quarter, however, Nielsen sees a big swing coming for iOS as Apple readies its next-generation iPhone 5. “Every time Apple launches a new iPhone or makes it available on a new wireless carrier, there is an increase in their sales,” Don Kellogg, Director of Telecom Research & Insights at Nielsen, wrote on the Nielsen’s blog. Smartphone owners made up 43% of the U.S. cell phone market in August according to Nielsen. A second chart from Nielsen’s report follows below.
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Android devices have nearly 2x the market share of iOS says Millennial Media

Millennial Media has released its monthly MobileMix report on ad impressions on its network, and, for the ninth month in a row, Android has been the top when it comes to operating system dominance. For August's report, Millennial has combined smartphones and connected devices (read: tablets) to see how all of iOS stacks up against all of what Android has to offer.
In the month of August, devices running the Android operating system comprised 54 percent of the ad impressions on Millennial's network. This was nearly double what Apple's iOS held, with its 28 percent. Prior months showed Android with 61 percent of the market and iOS with 21 percent. Due to the inclusion of connected devices, drawing conclusions from historical data would be inaccurate, but it is safe to say that Android has a firm lead in the smartphone market, at least.
On the manufacturer side of things, Apple was still number one, with 23.10 percent of total ad impressions, while HTC took over its number 2 slot from Samsung with 16.33 percent. Samsung held on to 14.55 percent of the market, while Motorola and RIM claimed 11.37 percent and 11.06 percent, respectively.

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Nielsen: Android takes 40% of U.S. smartphone market in July; iOS flat, RIM down a point

Google’s Android platform gained once again during the three-month period ending in July, increasing it’s share by 1% over second-quarter totals to grab 40% of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple’s iOS stayed flat at 28% and RIM’s BlackBerry OS lost one point from June-quarter figures to fall to 19%. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone combined to take 8% of the market — with Windows Phone responsible for just 1% on its own — and the ghost of smartphone operating systems past is now buried somewhere in the “Other” category. Nielsen also notes that 40% of mobile phone users between May and July of this year owned smartphones, and Android topped iOS in the firm’s survey of which smartphone platform users intend to buy next. From “innovators” to “late adopters,” each consumer group Nielsen polled but one — “early adopters” — found Android to be the most appealing OS for their next purchases. A chart outlining consumers’ next desired smartphone operating system follows below.

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Android-targeted malware jumps 76% in Q2, McAfee says

A new report recently issued by the security firm McAfee suggests that the number of malware applications targeting Android devices jumped 76% during the second quarter of this year, making Android the “most attacked” mobile operating system. “This year we’ve seen record-breaking numbers of malware, especially on mobile devices, where the uptick is in direct correlation to popularity,” senior vice president of McAfee labs Vincent Weafer said. Android users typically install the malware accidentally and assume the app is from a safe and legitimate developer. The most prevalent malware-infected modified applications were:

• Android/Jmsonez.A - a calendar app that sends SMS texts to a premium rate number.


• Android/Smsmecap.A – a fake comedy app that sends SMS texts to everyone in the user’s address book.


• Android/DroidKungFu – malware that is capable of installing its own software and updates.


• Android/DrdDreamLite – capable of sending data back to the attacker.

McAfee also noted a number of popular Android Trojans that have been making their way through devices. In addition, the company released compelling figures for how much a hacker can sell stolen email addresses for. In the United States, for example, 10,000,000 addresses can be sold to spammers for roughly $300. Read on for McAffee’s full press release, which includes several data points for PCs, too.

McAfee Q2 2011 Threats Report Shows Significant Growth for Malware on Mobile Platforms
Report Shows Record Growth for Malware and Rootkits; Major Hacktivist Activity
SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–McAfee today released the McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011, showing that the amount of malware targeted at Android devices jumped 76 percent since last quarter, to become the most attacked mobile operating system. 2011 has also resulted in the busiest ever first half-year in malware history, including a first-ever appearance of Mac fake AV and a significant uptick in rootkits, suggesting that McAfee’s comprehensive malware “zoo” collection will reach a record 75 million samples by the year’s end.
“This year we’ve seen record-breaking numbers of malware, especially on mobile devices, where the uptick is in direct correlation to popularity”
“This year we’ve seen record-breaking numbers of malware, especially on mobile devices, where the uptick is in direct correlation to popularity,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs. “Overall attacks are becoming more stealth and more sophisticated, suggesting that we could see attacks that remain unnoticed for longer periods of time. High-profile hacktivist groups have also changed the landscape by drawing a line between attacks for personal gain and attacks meant to send a message.”
The report also details specific activity shaping the way cybercriminals operate, such as cybercrime “pricebooks” that determine the going rate for large email address lists, and acts of hacktivism and cyberwar.
2011 On Track to Reach Record “Malware Zoo”
With an approximate 12 million unique samples for the first half of 2011, a 22 percent increase over 2010, this has been the busiest first half-year in malware history. With the addition of Q2’s numbers, the grand total of total malware samples in McAfee’s database has reached approximately 65 million, and McAfee researchers estimate that this “Malware Zoo” will reach at least 75 million samples by the year’s end.
Android Nabs Top Spot for Most Mobile Malware
With the vast amount of personal and business data now found on user’s mobile phones, mobile malware is steadily increasing, often mimicking the same code as PC-based threats. In the second quarter of 2011, Android OS-based malware surpassed Symbian OS for the most popular target for mobile malware developers. While Symbian OS and Java ME remain the most targeted to date, the rapid rise in Android malware in Q2 indicates that the platform could become an increasing target for cybercriminals – affecting everything from calendar apps, to comedy apps to SMS messages to a fake Angry Birds updates.
Fake Anti-Virus for Apple, Rootkits and Stealth Malware Reach New Terrain
There are more Mac users than ever before, and as organizations increasingly adopt Macs for business use, Apple now has become more a target for malware authors. Though historically the Apple platform has been unaffected by fake anti-virus (fake AV) software, activity in Q2 indicates that it is now being affected. Although this type of fake AV is the first of its kind, McAfee Labs does expect fake AV in general will drop off over time.
Another malware category that is demonstrating recent steady growth is stealth malware. The tactic of hiding malware in a rootkit is used by cybercriminals to make malware stealthier and more persistent, and has seen this type of attack gain in prominence over the past year, with high-profile attacks such as Stuxnet. Stealth malware has increased more rapidly in the last six months than in any previous period, up almost 38 percent over 2010.
Acts of Hacktivism and Cyberwar Make Their Mark
Acts of hacktivism, primarily from the groups Anonymous and LulzSec, were among some of the most prominent cyber news generators for Q2. The report details hacktivist activity from Q2, with at least 20 global attacks reported in Q2 alone, and with the majority allegedly at the hands of LulzSec. The report also outlines acts of cyberwar that occurred in Q2, including attacks on United States’ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and an attack on South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.
Email “Black Market” for Spammers
Though spam is still at historic low levels, due in part to the Rustock takedown, McAfee Labs still expects to see a sharp rise in activity over the coming months. A common method for cybercriminals to increase their volume of spam activity is to purchase a bulk list of emails in order to flood as much spam as possible to a widespread group of people. Whether it’s a botnet or a rental service, prices vary for such enterprises, often by location. For instance, in the United States, the going rate for 1 million emails is $25, whereas in England 1.5 million emails are worth $100.
For more information on trends related to hacktivism, cyberwar, web threats and malware, please download a full copy of the McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2011 at http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-quarterly-threat-q2-2011.pdf

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Millennial Media: Android Accounts For 61% Of All Smartphones, A 15% Growth Month-Over-Month

Mobile advertiser Millennial Media has released its monthly "Mobile Mix" report detailing the state of the mobile industry from its eyes. Things are looking good for Android, while still remaining basically the same overall:

Android had a strong growth month, and increased 15% month-over-month. Android had a 61% share of overall smartphone impressions and was in the top spot for the 8^th straight month.




Samsung grew 28% month-over-month as a manufacturer, and was the second leading manufacturer on our network.




Motorola was the 5^th leading manufacturer, and had 3 phones in the top 11 mobile phones.




When breaking down ad spend from applications on our network, 48% came from Android apps, while 43% came from iOS apps.




Devices with both a touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard grew 7% month-over-month and represented 16% of all impressions. This was tied to both the Motorola Droid and BlackBerry Torch.




Gaming apps made up 34% of the ad spend for Android applications. On our network overall, gaming apps held a 29% share (which is a 35% increase month-over-month).

The Nexus S is currently the most popular Android phone, representing 5.73% of the top 20 devices. Of course, the iPhone is holding on tight to the number one spot, with 13.6% of the impression share. Surprisingly, the Blackberry Curve is hot on the heels of the Nexus S, with 5.23%, the OG Motorola Droid is still alive and kicking with 3.94%, and the Blackberry Bold II rounds out the top five devices with 1.93%. Overall, an impressive 16 of the top 20 devices run Android.

Similarly, Apple is the top device manufacturer, representing 26% of the manufacturer impression share. Samsung is gaining steam on a monthly basis, holding the number two spot at 19.11%, making up a 28% growth month-over-month. Rounding out the rest of the top five manufacturers is RIM with 11.45%, HTC with 10.98%, and Motorola at 10.26%.

Out of the overall smartphone category, Android is running on 61% of all devices, a 15% increase month-over-month. Despite only running on one specific hardware, iOS is still representing 21% of the market, with RIM right behind at 14%. Symbian and Windows Mobile/Phone 7 make up the remaining 4%.
Of course, these results are far from concrete and can drastically vary from study-to-study, as we've seen in the past.

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Android, iOS gain U.S. market share in Q2 while BlackBerry slides, NPD says

Android’s lead in the U.S. smartphone market was extended further in the second quarter of 2011 according to leading market research firm The NPD Group. The firm on Monday released its second-quarter Mobile Phone Track report, which shows that Android devices accounted for 52% of smartphones sold in the U.S. last quarter. Apple’s iOS-powered iPhone showed slight gains in the second quarter as well, representing 29% of smartphone sales. RIM’s BlackBerry platform slid in the quarter according to NPD, dropping to an 11% share of the U.S. smartphone market, while Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile and webOS sales were flat at less than 5% each. NPD also believes that Google’s planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility will not deter its major Android partners, as some have speculated. “Google’s acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors,” said Ross Rubin, The NPD Group’s executive director of industry analysis, in a statement. “Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer.” NPD’s full press release follows below.

The NPD Group: As Android Solidifies Lead, Google Acquisition Has Potential to Revitalize Flagging Motorola
Patent-rich handset pioneer’s second quarter share fell to gains by Apple, Samsung and LG.
PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, August TK, 2011 – According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, Google’s Android operating system (OS) continued to dominate U.S. smartphone market share, accounting for 52 percent of units sold in the second quarter (Q2) of 2011. Like Android, Apple’s iPhone OS (iOS) experienced slight quarterly gain rising to 29 percent in Q2; however, BlackBerry OS share fell to 11 percent, as Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile, and webOS held steady at less than five percent of the market each.
“Google’s acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer.”
Motorola’s overall mobile phone market share declined 3 percentage points, from 12 percent in Q2 2010 to 9 percent in Q2 2011. The company’s share of the smartphone market also declined from 15 percent to 12 percent. Motorola’s year-over-year unit share of Android OS sales halved from 44 percent in Q2 of last year to 22 percent in Q2 of 2011, as Samsung and LG both experienced substantial gains.
“Much as it did in the feature phone market in the RAZR era, Motorola is experiencing increased competition from Samsung and LG in the smartphone market,” Rubin said. “Closer ties to the heart of Android can help inspire new paths to differentiation.”
Growing opportunity in prepaid smartphones
Beyond the four largest national carriers, Motorola can also make up ground in the rapidly growing pre-paid smartphone market. Based on the latest information from NPD’s “Mobile Phone Track,” one in five new handsets acquired in Q2 was on a prepaid plan, and carriers offering prepaid mobile phones continued to grow their smartphone portfolios. In Q2 2010 just 8 percent of prepaid phones were smartphones, but in Q2 2011 that number jumped to 22 percent.
“Android is also leading the charge in the rapidly growing prepaid smartphone market,” Rubin said. “This was once a key segment for Motorola that the company has an opportunity to reclaim as prepaid carriers build their smartphone portfolios.”

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Most Android apps sit idle, top-50 apps make up 61% of all usage, Nielsen finds

When consumers use their mobile phones to check the news, weather, email, or their social networks, they often have a choice between the mobile web version or a specially-created mobile app. But which do they prefer? Mobile apps – at least in terms of time spent.
According to first-reported data from Nielsen Smartphone Analytics, a new effort that tracks and analyzes data from on-device meters installed on thousands of iOS and Android smartphones, the average Android consumer in the U.S. spends 56 minutes per day actively interacting with the web and apps on their phone. Of that time, two-thirds is spent on mobile apps while one-third is spent on the mobile web.

Perhaps more surprising, despite the hundreds of thousands of apps available for Android, a very small proportion of apps make up the vast majority of time spent. In fact, the top 10 Android apps account for 43 percent of all the time spent by Android consumers on mobile apps. The top 50 apps account for 61 percent of all time spent. With 250,000+ Android apps available at the time of this writing, that means the remaining 249,950+ apps have to compete for the remaining 39 percent of the pie.

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Verizon’s Android Market Share Slips as AT&T and Regional Carriers Gain

Online advertising data gatherers, Chitika have published a follow up to research they conducted in March about the division of the Android market share among U.S. carriers. The data shows some interesting, but not all too surprising shifts over the past few months. Let’s take a look at how things have changed.

The original survey found Verizon to have over half the market, no doubt thanks to the likes of their enormously popular Droid line, sheer size, and lack of an iPhone. Since then Verizon’s launched several new LTE devices, but the Verizon iPhone has also been around for several months. What really caused Verizon to lose 10% of the market share, in my opinion at least was other carriers stepping up their game.
In the last few months, AT&T and regional carriers, such as Virgin Mobile and U.S. Cellular have shown a new commitment to Android. AT&T’s Motorola Atrix and Samsung Infuse are a couple of the 4G devices that it was desperately in need of at the start of this year. It hasn’t been enough to propel Ma Bell to the top, but it did more than double their previous, disheartening share of 3.583%.
While smaller regional carriers have usually been limited to older, or far less impressive phones, a few jewels have shown up. These phones, like the Motorola Triumph for Virgin Mobile and cheaper prices have made these other carriers more attractive. This all sounds good to me. I’ve always been one for consumer choice (I do love Android after all…)
[via Chitika]

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Research firm claims Android Market is driven by very active developers

Data from an app rating and discovery company called Mobilewalla has surfaced that digs into the Android Market and found some interesting details about developers for Android. According to the metrics firm, the Android market is led by a number of very prolific app markers. The company also found that the apps on Android also see more updates per app than apps on the App Store at Apple sees.

I am sure that has to do with the fact that developers on the Android Market can update and publish as they see fit whereas Apple forces all updates through an approval process. The data the company published shows that in May Android devs that have created more than 100 apps and are responsible for more than 53% of the apps on the Market.
On the App Store, by contrast developers that have more than 100 apps to their credit only represent 23% of all apps. The implication is that the fast growth of the Android market means that it is driven by a smaller set of developers that are pushing out lots of new apps.
[via Gigaom]

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Android steals 20% of tablet market from iPad over past year

Android-powered tablets have taken 20% of the global tablet market from Apple’s iPad over the past 12 months according to new data from ABI Research. While Android tablets have collectively managed to make a sizable dent in the iPad’s global market share, ABI says no single tablet vendor has managed to “mount a significant challenge” against the iPad at this point. “Many vendors have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the pack to pose a serious threat to Apple,” ABI Research mobile devices group director Jeff Orr said in a statement. ”In fact, most have introduced products at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet while keeping product pricing unchanged.” Orr continued, “De-featured, low-cost media tablets are being introduced by more than fifty vendors in 2011. This will certainly help bolster year-over-year growth for the category, but it also creates a negative perception in the minds of the mass consumer audience about the readiness of media tablets to be fully functional within the next several years. Good user experiences and product response are needed to propel this market beyond the ‘early adopter’ stage.” ABI Reseach’s full press release follows below.

Android Takes 20% Media Tablet Market Share from iPad in Last 12 Months
NEW YORK – August 11, 2011
Worldwide annual media tablet shipments are expected to top 120 million units in 2015. While not quite as strong as traditional PC or smartphone annual sales, media tablets are emerging from the shadow of non-handset mobile devices and rapidly coming into their own. Android media tablets have collectively taken 20% market share away from the iPad in the last 12 months. However, no single vendor using Android (or any other OS) has been able to mount a significant challenge against it.
ABI Research mobile devices group director Jeff Orr comments, “Many vendors have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the pack to pose a serious threat to Apple. In fact, most have introduced products at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet while keeping product pricing unchanged.”
Fragmentation within operating system software is hindering growth of this device category. Application developers must choose an initial software platform and may delay starting development if the market potential is not significant. Google’s Android OS has no less than three different software builds deployed across media tablets at the same time. The benefits of open software platform development have yet to be realized for media tablets.
“De-featured, low-cost media tablets are being introduced by more than fifty vendors in 2011,” Orr says. “This will certainly help bolster year-over-year growth for the category, but it also creates a negative perception in the minds of the mass consumer audience about the readiness of media tablets to be fully functional within the next several years. Good user experiences and product response are needed to propel this market beyond the ‘early adopter’ stage.”
ABI Research’s new “Media Tablets” study defines the product category, discusses market drivers and inhibitors, and provides information about distribution channels, go-to-market strategies, product pricing, and availability. The report also presents information about device features, capabilities, and use cases, and provides forecasts of media tablet shipments and price bands.
It is part of the firm’s Tablets, Netbooks, and Mobile CE Research Service.

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FroYo now on 66pc of Android devices; Honeycomb on 0.3pc

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According to the latest Android platform figures from Google, Android 2.2 ‘FroYo’ is now on over 65% of the total Android devices, while Android 2.1 aka Éclair is still present on 25% of the phones.
Gingerbread is limited to just 4% of the total market because the delay by device vendors in pushing the updates. First Gingerbread devices have just start reaching market from the likes of HTC, while Samsung is still waiting for release a Gingerbread phone apart from Nexus S.
Motorola is totally absent from the scene, no Gingerbread device till now, and its track record with updates is worse than none. Sony Ericsson is the only vendor with two Android 2.3 devices in the market, and third is waiting to be launched, but the Earthquake in Japan has created some supply issues.
Coming to Honeycomb, its platform share hasn’t crossed even 1% and is just 0.3%. We are hoping that the recent tablet launches by Acer and Asus will help improve this figure. Samsung is again waiting for production of their Honeycomb tablets.

Android Version	Distribution
Android 1.5	2.3%
Android 1.6	3.0%
Android 2.1	24.5%
Android 2.2	65.9%
Android 2.3	4%
Android 3.0	0.3%

 

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Android passes Apple, now has more Free apps in Mark

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App store researchers Distimo, known for researching and gathering factual data on app stores and reporting some accurate information on all things Apps have just released their latest publication. Taking a close look at all the app stores but more importantly to us, the Android and Apple markets. According to their report, Google’s Android Market has now passed Apple and is now offering more free apps than the Apple App Store.

This is big news considering Apple has been talking down on Android and its apps for a long time, take this Jobs. According to Distimo, Google’s Android Market currently offers 134,342 free applications for download, while Apple’s App Store for iPhone offers 121,845 free applications. This is not taking into account the paid apps, as Apple has far more paid apps than Android. This is based on free apps.
Obviously Apple’s App Store is the largest of its kind, but Android and its market is hot on its heels and is gaining ground fast. The report also mentions that the App Store was one of the slowest stores in March of 2011. Overall Apple still has a strong lead on the overall size of market, but things are looking better and better for Android every month. With all the tablets on the way to shelves things will only keep getting bigger and better. For the full story check out the link and download the latest publication from Distimo.

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Android Officially Cooler than iPhone

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Well Android fans – we are no longer the underdogs. It turns out that their is a new cool kid on the block. Android phones, according to a very recent Nielsen survey, are now cooler than the iPhone. Nielsen surveyed people, as their business is market research, and the results of people surveyed from January-March of this year, showed that 31% of future smartphone owners plan to buy one running Android, which has tip toed past the once great, once mighty iPhone. While the difference currently is 31% wanting an Android phone and 30% wanting an iPhone for the first time, this shift is undoubtedly part of a larger trend.

More significantly, they discovered that 50% of recent smartphone buyers purchased an Android phones, while only 25% purchased an iPhone. And, of course, Android is maintaining a healthy 37% market share in the US.

The future certainly looks bright! With 1 million daily activations likely to occur daily by 2013, how how big do you think Android will get in a few short years?

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Has Developer Interest in Android Leveled Off?

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Has the golden era of Android ended? It has for developers, at least one survey is reporting. Interest in developing for Android phones and tablets has dropped, according to the latest survey conducted by Appcelerator and IDC. It had been seeing a steady increase up until this point. Interest in Android phone development was down two points, settling at 85 percent. Tablets saw an larger drop of three points for a 71 percent interest level. In the meantime, interest in Apple’s iOS remains strong.
So why are developers starting to feel cold towards Android? The two major factors in the shift are renewed concerns about platform fragmentation and what is being perceived as a rather lackluster initial run of Honeycomb tablets. The emergence of new third-party app stores also concerns some developers.
The good news is that Android and iOS still maintain the strongest hold on developers, and third-place options such as Windows Phone 7 still aren’t garnering too much attention. We still have to wonder if this is simply a minor hiccup or a trend that will continue into the next quarter. Provided Google woos us at their I/O developer conference, momentum could once again shift towards the positive for Android app development.
 

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