Nielsen Wire has posted new smartphone numbers for July 2011, showing that 40% of mobile consumers in the US currently use a smartphone. Of that 40%, 40% use Android, 28% use Apple iPhone (iOS), 19% use RIM Blackberry, and 7% still use Windows Mobile while 1% uses the new Windows Phone 7. The remaining 5% is listed as ‘other’ and would include things like WebOS and Symbian. Doing the math, and a little rounding, that means 16% of phones in the US run Android, 11% run iOS, and 8% run Blackberry.
The smartphone market is really well on its way to being a duopoly of Android and iOS. Blackberry is up there right now, but while the two leaders have been growing their market share, Blackberry has been losing it. That should continue and the two leaders will increasingly open their lead over Blackberry.
Looking at consumers who plan to buy a new smartphone in the next year, 31% said they want their next phone to be an iPhone while 34% say they want it to run Android. Bad news for RIM, only 7% say they want a Blackberry. That’s especially when 5% say they want Windows Phone 7, and it’s barely broken into the market at this point. So much for Blackberry’s vaunted customer loyalty. Still, they have a chance, 2% say they want ‘Other’, and with WebOS and Symbian Gone they’re really up for grabs, as are the 18% who are undecided.
If these numbers play out, things are looking very good for Android and iPhone – but not very good for anyone else. Blackberry looks to remain in a serious slide unless they can do something drastic to turn things around.
