According to analysts, smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system accounted for a huge portion of the market during this year’s third quarter.
Strategy Analytics suggested that Android commanded an 81 per cent market share between July and September, while Windows Phone was the fastest growing platform.
Sales figures from Q3 found that more than 204 million Android handsets were shipped – launching Google’s OS to the number one spot at the expense of rivals Blackberry and Apple.
While Apple’s overall number of shipments during the quarter did rise year-on-year – from 26.9 million units in 2012 to 33.8 million in 2013 – the Californian tech giant saw its market share dip from 15.6 per cent to 13.4 per cent.
Strategy Analytics also found that Blackberry’s figures were the least impressive – the firm shipped around 2.5 million smartphones in Q3, leaving it with a market share of around one per cent compared to 4.3 per cent last year.
While Microsoft’s Windows Phone still holds a relatively small share of the market, its grip increased significantly from July to September – rising to 4.1 per cent.
While these figures do give a picture of the market overall, they only cover shipments. As such, it could be said that they reflect the tastes of retailers rather than consumers.
With the top four smartphone developers shipping more than 250 million handsets between them in Q3 alone, it’s clear that businesses need to reassign some of their website marketing focus to cater for consumers shopping and browsing via handheld devices. News content providers and e-retailers, for instance, need to ensure their feeds translate well when accessed using a touch screen or a smaller display.
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