Google Android shipped on three out of every four smartphones sold worldwide during the third quarter of 2012, according to new figures from IDC.
The figures reveal that total worldwide smartphone shipments stood at 181.1 million for the quarter, up 46.4% from the 123.7 million smartphones sold during the same quarter last year.
Of that total, 136 million smartphones ran Android, representing 75% of the market. The figure is up 91.5% over the 71 million Android smartphones sold during the same quarter last year, when the platform claimed 57.5% of the market.
Apple claimed 14.9% of the market with 26.9 million smartphones shipped, up 57.3% year-on-year from 17.1 million units and 13.8% marketshare.
Combined, Apple and Android now account for 89.9% of the world smartphone market, representing 162.9 million out of the 181.1 million smartphones sold during the quarter.
Research in Motion’s BlackBerry platform claimed 4.3% of the market with 7.7 million units shipped, down 34.7% year-on-year from 11.8 units and 9.5% marketshare.
Symbian shipped on 4.1 smartphones, claiming 2.3% of the market, down 77.3% from the 18.1 million units and 14.6% marketshare the platform claimed in the same quarter last year.
Despite the falls, both Symbian and BlackBerry remain well ahead of the combined Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile figure of 3.6 million units or 2.0% marketshare, despite a 140% growth rate from the 1.5 million units and 1.2% marketshare for the Microsoft platforms this time last year.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
