After the launch of the iPhone 4S and the arrival of Apple’s handset on Sprint, plenty of pundits pondered whether or not the iPhone was actually outselling Android phones across the country.
Nielsen sifted through the mountain of data that comes in through its analytical network and says it has the answer: nope, not by a long shot.
The research firm says that of all the people who purchased smartphones in the second quarter, 54.6 percent opted for an Android-based model, while 36.3 percent decided to pick up an iPhone, instead. But Apple is doing a lot better than a certain Canadian company.
It’s not hard to see where the new customers are coming from for Android and Apple: RIM still claims 8.1 percent of the total smartphone market, but only 4 percent of buyers in the second quarter went for a BlackBerry. BlackBerry 10 can’t come fast enough for the struggling company, especially after the recent launch of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the threat of a looming iPhone 5.
Even though iPhone sales don’t rival Android sales, Nielsen says Apple has the largest slice of the pie among manufacturers. Apple holds 34 percent of the overall handset market, while Samsung comes in second with a 17 percent share, just ahead of HTC. Two-thirds of all cellphone buyers in the second quarter chose a smartphone over a feature phone.
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