Android to grab 10 per cent of smartphone market

Gartner is already predicting success for the Android platform

Google's open source Android platform will account for 10 per cent of the smartphone market in 2011, according to analyst firm Gartner.

The first device to run Android, HTC's G1, will launch on 23 September. T-Mobile will be hosting a UK launch event to showcase the device on Tuesday afternoon.

Ahead of the launch, Gartner is predicting success for the platform. " Android has the potential to become the de facto operating system for Linux and we expect sales to reach around 10 per cent of the smartphone market in 2011," said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, in a research note.

However, Cozza expected some problems with early models. "The G1 is the first device coming to market supporting Android," he said.

"Although this will give us a taste of what the platform will be able to do, we are expecting some limitations given that this is the first device."