Apple, Android Sales Soar in Q3 2010

Gartner says that enterprise adoption of
iPhone and iPad has grown, enabling Apple to steal smartphone sales in Q3 2010 from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. The quarter was most notable for
zooming Apple and Android smartphone sales, as well as the challenges posed
as component makers struggled to keep pace with growth.

Worldwide mobile phone sales reached 417 million units during Q3 2010,
up 35 percent from the same period a year ago. Smartphones, increasingly dominating
the space, grew by 96 percent in 3Q, accounting for 19.3 percent of all mobile phone sales, with record shipments of 80.5 million units.

Global market leader Symbian commanded 36.6 percent of smartphone
sales in Q3 2010, down from 44.6 percent in Q3 2009. Android grabbed a 25.5
percent share of the smartphone sales in Q3, up from just 3.5 percent in the same period a year earlier. This feat was
the result of a variety of handsets on multiple carriers–from Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S
line, to ZTE’s lower-priced options–as well as the fast pace with which Google has maintained and
updated the OS, reports Garter.

Behind Android, Apple charged ahead of RIM,
stealing away third position on sales of 13.5 million handsets for 16.7
percent smartphone market share. RIM shipped 12 million handsets in Q3 for a 14.8 percent
smartphone market share.

Were it not for component shortages, Apple’s total could have been
still higher, reports Gartner.

Rounding out smartphone sales, Microsoft Windows Mobile handsets
made up 2.8 percent of Q3 2010 smartphone sales (reflecting that Windows Phone 7
had yet to launch), followed by Linux with a 2.1 percent share.

For more, see the eWeek article Apple, Android Sales Soar Despite Component Shortages in Q3.