Android smartphone sales rocket in Q2

Consumers are asking for Android handsets by name

Sales of Android-based smartphones have increased by 350 per cent since the first quarter of the year, according to the latest data from market research firm GfK Retail and Technology.

Android's contract market share rose from three per cent to 13.2 per cent over the period, as overall smartphone sales reached 66.7 per cent of all mobile phone sales, up from 55 per cent in the first quarter.

Smartphone sales are expected to continue rising throughout the year, and already have a 73.5 per cent share of the contract market, according to Gfk.

"The figures suggest that an increasing number of consumers are now asking for Android handsets by name," said GfK analyst Megan Baldock. "Operating systems are no longer simply a by-product, but a key selling point in their own right."

Recent figures from Google suggest that Android users are migrating to the latest versions of the mobile operating system.

The number of handsets running Android 2.1 was up five per cent to 55.5 per cent in June compared to the previous month, Google said.

Google began pushing out the latest Android 2.2 release to users of its Nexus One smartphone just under a month ago, but no longer sells the device directly to customers.