Research firm Telsyte predicts the Google Android platform will triple its market share during 2011, with Nokia and Windows Mobile to lose market share.
The firm predicts that with the growth of smartphones, focus will shift away from hardware features and onto the different issues around software design, such as applications. As a result, the company says low-cost Android phones will become the fastest growing segment of the market.
“Android is growing as a distributive force against Apple. The quality of the platform is improving and gaining significant traction in the developer community,” Telsyte research director Foad Fadaghi said in a statement.
“Many of the same applications available in the Apple App Store are starting to appear in the Android Marketplace, often significantly cheaper or free of charge.”
But Telsyte also says the challenge for Google will be convincing iPhone users, who already have a high level of satisfaction, to switch platforms.
Overall, Telsyte says 54% of mobile phones shipped in 2010 were smartphones, representing year-on-year growth of 75%. This year, it expects 6.8 million shipments, up from 4.8 million in 2010.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
