Research firm shows Android lost ground in Q4

Research firm Kantar Worldpanel has found that the huge demand for Apple’s iPhones in Q4, driven by the arrival of the Siri-toting iPhone 4S, has catapulted Apple past the combined sales of all Google Android-powered smartphones over the same period. According to the data, Apple’s share of the critical US market doubled year-over-year for the quarter to 44.9 percent. This just beat out Android smartphones, which dropped from a 50 percent share to 44.8 percent, marking the first significant reversal in the platform's recent fortunes.

"Apple has continued its strong sales run in the U.S., UK and Australia over the Christmas period," said Dominic Sunnebo, of Kantar.

"Overall, Apple sales are now growing at a faster rate than Android across the nine countries we cover," he added.

Apple yesterday reported on what was the second largest quarterly profit result in US corporate history. The company smashed Wall Street consensus with sales of $46.3 billion including record sales of iPhones and iPads. iPhone sales hit 37.04 million units, even though it came up against the high profile launch of Google’s Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) handset, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Further research by Kantar showed that Microsoft’s Windows Phone share held steady at under two percent, with Nokia’s mid-level Lumia 800 failing to crack the top list of smartphones sold in the UK. This was despite the phone launching to one of the best smartphone sales results the company has experienced in the UK in recent years. However, Sunnebo remains optimistic about Windows Phone, predicting that Microsoft’s nascent smartphone platform will reach a 10 percent share of the European smartphone market. [via Reuters]

By Electronista Staff