Android, iOS Dominate Smartphone Market; BlackBerry Falls

A report from research firm IDC also found that Windows Phone gained market share.

Android and iOS, the number one and number two ranked smartphone operating systems worldwide, combined for 92.3% of all smartphone shipments during the first quarter of 2013, wile Windows Phone jumped past BlackBerry for 3rd place, according to a recent report from IDC.

According to IDC, Android smartphone vendors and Apple shipped a total of 199.5 million units worldwide during Q1 of 2013, up 59.1% from the 125.4 million units shipped during the same period in 2012.

Samsung remained the leader among all Android smartphone vendors, the firm reported, wit 41.1% market share. Following Samsung was a long list of vendors with single-digit market share, and an even longer list of vendors with market share less than one percent, said IDC.

While Apple iOS posted its largest first quarter volume ever, it still saw a year-over-year decline in market share and lower year-over-year shipment growth than the overall market. Although demand remains strong worldwide, the iOS experience has remained largely the same since the first iPhone debuted in 2007, IDC said.

Windows Phone, meanwhile, more than doubled its size from the previous year, overtaking BlackBerry for third place among smartphone operating systems. However, IDC noted that BlackBerry is making progress, as it shipped more than a million units running on its new BB10 platform during the first quarter of its availability.

"Underpinning the worldwide smartphone market is the constantly shifting operating system landscape," said Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team, in a statement. "Android and iOS accounted for more than the lion's share of smartphones in the first quarter, but a closer examination of the other platforms reveals turnaround and demand for alternatives. Windows Phone has benefited from Nokia's participation, and BlackBerry's new BB10 devices have already hit a million units shipped in its first quarter of availability."

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio