Android shipments going through the roof

Android shipments are threatening Nokia's dominance in the market

Android shipments are growing at an incredible pace, according to the latest figures from analyst house Canalys.

The firm said in its latest report that year-on-year shipments of smartphones with the Google-backed operating system had grown by 886 per cent.

Interestingly, Nokia is holding top place for device shipments but, with the increased interest in operating systems other than its own, this lead is a flaky one.

Nokia has a "substantial" lead, according to Canalys, with its 38 per cent market share and record shipments of 23.8 million devices in the second quarter alone.

According to the figures, the firm's shipments represent growth of around 40 per cent. However, Canalys argued that Nokia's market dominance is "not as unassailable as it once was", adding that its performance was outpaced by the market in general.

Apple, which Canalys said had undergone a "period of turbulent PR" with the iPhone 4 antenna problems, did well thanks to the release of the new handset during the quarter. This had added to its 61 per cent growth rate, and third place with a 13 per cent quarterly share of the market.

However, none of these devices run Android, which had proved to be the real winner over the three-month period, Canalys said.

This growth of 886 per cent was made possible by Android handset releases from a number of firms, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG.

"The latest release of our detailed and complete country-level smartphone shipment data for Q2 2010 clearly reveals the impressive momentum Android is gaining in markets around the world," said Canalys vice president and principal analyst Chris Jones.

"These products have been well received by the market, with consumers eager to download and engage with mobile applications and services, such as internet browsing, social networking, games and navigation."

Geographically, the smartphone market is growing across the board. For example, the US, which has the largest shipments in the world, grew by 41 per cent and accounts for just under a quarter of all sales with its 14.7 million units shifted. Here, Android takes just over a third of the market as sales grew by 851 per cent.

This growth trend is mirrored globally and will continue to be so, according to Pete Cunningham, senior analyst at Canalys.

"By 2013, smartphones will grow to represent over 27 per cent of shipments worldwide, with the proportion in some developed markets in Western Europe surpassing 60 per cent and 48 per cent in North America," he said.