Survey shows surge of interest in Android handsets

Android is becoming an increasingly popular smartphone platform

A survey of over 4,000 smartphone buyers has shown a sharp increase in the number of people considering a handset running the Android operating system.

The survey, which is regularly carried out by ChangeWave Research, found that interest in Android had risen by 15 per cent in the past three months, making it the second most popular operating system behind the iPhone.

"Twenty-one per cent of those planning to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days say they'd prefer to have the Android OS on their new phone, a monstrous 15 point jump in just three months," said the survey report's authors Paul Carton and Jean Crumrine.

"To put this in context, three months ago Android OS was tied for last place in consumer preference among the major mobile operating systems. But since then it has surged into second place ahead of all competitors except the iPhone OS X (28 per cent) which remains the number one choice for operating systems, although down four points from previously."

The survey was not good news for Palm and Microsoft. Palm trails other manufacturers in terms of consumer interest in its webOS platform, which has halved over the past three months to just three per cent.

Interest in Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system also fell three percentage points to just six per cent.

The researchers also reported that Motorola's decision to sell Android handsets is paying dividends.

"The Motorola Droid stands out as the biggest and most immediate beneficiary of the enormous wave of new demand for the Android OS," the report said.

"Motorola is registering a huge 12 point jump in terms of future buying, the first increase for Motorola in a ChangeWave smartphone survey in three years."

Google is planning to launch its own Android handset at the Consumer Electonics Show in Las Vegas this week.