Apple mobile OS still tops Google Android

Many thought this race would be determined by the end of 2010, but as we roll into 2011, the mobile phone race is still too close to call. According to a report released on Monday by Nielsen, the market research company, Apple’s iPhone operating system is still the top mobile OS in the United States, controlling 28.6% of the smartphone market. Google’s Android platform is close by at 25.8% of the market, rising steadily as it nips at Apple’s heels. The BlackBerry from Research In Motion (RIM), once the leader in the smartphone space, continues on its steady decline and now controls 26.1% of the market. In June 2010, RIM was far ahead of Apple and Google with a 33% share. Nielsen noted in the report that the race to own the “consumer market share is tighter than it has ever been” since the smartphone emerged as a multibillion-dollar market several years ago. Earlier, mobile reports by Nielsen noted that the smartphone market would not stabilise in the near future, as Apple, Google and RIM continued to add customers to the smartphone ranks. The latest numbers from Nielsen show that during November, 45% of mobile phone customers decided to buy a smartphone over a feature phone. Many thought this race would be determined by the end of 2010, but as we roll into 2011 the mobile phone race is still too close to call.