Apple trails Android and BlackBerry in UK handset market

Android-based smartphones have the lion's share of the UK market, and Apple comes third behind BlackBerry, according to figures from research firm Kantar Worldpanel.

In a report just published, the company found that, in the 12 weeks up to August this year, Google's Android platform represented 47.1 per cent of the smartphone market in this country, with RIM's BlackBerry devices accounting for 21.5 per cent and Apple's iPhone models close behind on 20.8 per cent.

However, it should be noted that, while Apple and RIM handsets are manufactured by a single vendor, Android-based handsets are made by a number of different companies.

Nevertheless, Kantar Worldpanel said that smartphone buyers are increasingly influenced by the software platform.

"We are now seeing that the type of software on a phone is influencing what handset a person buys. This has provided key opportunities for previously little-known manufacturers such as HTC and ZTE, who use popular operating systems," said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel.

"For example, 25 per cent of consumers who purchased a ZTE smartphone claimed they did so because of the Android operating system."

The research also found that 68.5 per cent of handset sales during the 12 week period were smartphones, and that 41 per cent of the UK population now owns a smartphone.