Google’s Android operating system is running nearly one in four smartphones today in Europe’s biggest markets.
In data released Wednesday measuring smartphone trends across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, comScore found that Android held 22.3 percent market share ahead of Apple (20.3 percent) and others during a three-month period ending in July.
Nokia’s Symbian remains the most popular platform, but its market share has declined from 53.9 percent in July 2010 to 37.8 percent a year later.
“Smartphone adoption has seen significant growth from the previous year, driven in large part by the increasing popularity of the Google Android platform," said Jeremy Copp, comScore Europe vice president for Mobile, in a statement. “Although Symbian continues to lead the EU5 smartphone market, Android is gaining fast and recently passed Apple to become the second most popular platform. Network operators, publishers and advertisers looking to effectively reach the European mobile audience must pay close attention to the continued growth of Android in the region, as it will likely have far-reaching implications for the mobile media landscape."
Several handset makers incorporate Google’s Android platform: comScore found that HTC had the highest share among original equipment manufacturers, representing 34.6 percent of Android devices ahead of Samsung (31.7 percent), Sony Ericsson (15.1 percent); LG (5.8 percent) and Motorola (3.6 percent).
