Oh, these cute little Androids are feeling a little tired, aren't they! Well, if we look at the statistics, then yes, their march to the top of
the mobile world has indeed slowed down a bit. According to the research firm Needham & Co., during the first quarter of the year, the operating system lost 3 percent of the market share. The factoid is even more disheartening as during this time period, RIM lost about 7 percent of the market share. So, instead of getting advantage of dip in RIM's fortunes, Android managed to lose its own base too. Not a nice start of the year!
Apple, of course, is marching ahead. Though, the company's Verizon iPhone 4 did not give the flawless sales performance that we have started to expect from Apple products, the phone was a commercial success nonetheless. It also helped Apple in increasing its market share from 17.2 percent to 29.5 percent.
Though, the report says that Android will see a bounce in its share in the latter parts of the months, but then it also faces the risk of upcoming iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S or whatever the moniker of the new iPhone is going to be. Android is likely to be hit hard by the new phone, as more Verizon users are likely to defect to Apple camp, once the new iteration of the phone hits the market. And now that Apple has put a hole in its walled garden and has started selling unlocked iPhone, expect the Cupertino company's market share to swell even further.