尼爾森：Android手機美國銷量首超iPhone

 

http://gigaom.com/2010/08/02/android-sales-overtake-iphone-in-the-u-s/

 

 

資料顯示，Android手機目前在美國智能手機銷售市場所佔的份額達到27%，而iPhone為23%。Android手機不僅在美國市場表現良好，在全球市場同樣快速發展。市場研究公司Canalys估計，Android第二季度的全球銷售量同比增長886%。

 

一款產品在推出初期的銷售量總是會穩步增長，但Android推出已有兩年時間。有業內人士認為，過去一年中，直到2.1版Android推出後，該系統才逐漸走向成熟。從這一角度來看，相對蘋果iOS 4和RIM黑莓系統，Android仍處於起步階段。

　　手機廠商的青睞是推動Android發展的又一因素。例如，通過全力推廣Android手機，摩托羅拉手機業務扭虧為盈。宏達電(HTC)曾是 Windows Mobile手機的主要生產廠商，然而該公司也全面轉向Android。今年第二季度，宏達電的營收同比增長66%。

 

儘管Android手機非常熱銷，但使用者對Android系統並不完全滿意。尼爾森通過調查發現，71%的Android手機使用者將會再次購買Android手機。而願意再次購買蘋果產品的iPhone使用者達到89%。

　　在美國市場，Android和iOS4平台均落後於黑莓，後者的市場份額為33%。不過有許多使用者認為，黑莓需要作出大幅調整。在尼爾森的調查中，有一半的黑莓手機使用者表示不會再購買黑莓手機，在更換手機時將考慮Google或蘋果平台的產品。黑莓手機在美國市場的份額也在下降，當前的黑莓手機在互連網瀏覽和行動裝置 App等方面相對較弱。不過，RIM即將推出黑莓6系統，並可能推出平板電腦等產品。

　　根據Canalys的資料，美國擁有全球最多的智能手機使用者，上一季度銷售的智能手機達到1470萬部。不過在全球市場，諾基亞仍然處於領先。第二季度，諾基亞售出了2380萬部智能手機，銷售量同比增長41%。不過這遠低於Android手機的銷售增長速度。由於智能手機市場的整體增長，因此所有智能手機的銷售量都有所上升，不過很明顯Android的增長速度快於其他平台

 

Sales of Google Android phones in the U.S. are rising so quickly, the devices have outsold Apple handsets for the first time on record. New smartphone subscribers choosing Google phones accounted for 27 percent of U.S. smartphone sales, the Nielsen Company will announce this morning, nudging past the 23 percent share held by Apple. But Android isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon: Canalys today estimates that Android handset sales grew 886 percent worldwide from the year ago quarter.

It’s easier to show stellar growth in the beginning of  a product cycle, but Android is nearly two years old. One could make the valid argument that Android really began to mature over the past year with Android 2.1, so from that standpoint, Google’s platform is still an infant when compared to iOS4, BlackBerry and other mobile operating systems. But the uptake of Android among handset-makers is another factor in such growth. Motorola’s Mobile Device division has swung from losses to profits on the back of Android, for example. And HTC — once primarily a Windows Mobile phone maker — embraced Android even as Microsoft’s mobile platform is undergoing a major facelift. The result? HTC revenues were up 66 percent in June from a year ago.

As hot a seller as Google Android phones are right now, its user base isn’t the most satisfied with their device. When surveying current Android device owners, Nielson found that 71 percent would buy an Android phone again. That sounds like a high loyalty rating, but it falls noticeably short when asking iPhone owners about their next handset — 89 percent are happy with iOS4 and plan to buy a future Apple handset.

Both the Android and iOS4 platforms still trail the 33 percent U.S. share held by Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices, but for many, BlackBerry needs an overhaul. One half of the current BlackBerry owners surveyed don’t want another RIM device when it comes time to upgrade, but instead are looking at replacements running either Google’s or Apple’s mobile platform. Even with the top market share spot in the U.S., RIM share has been trending down because the current devices are seen as inferior when it comes to browsing or offering apps. That should change tomorrow as RIM is holding a press event where it is widely expected the company will debut its new BlackBerry 6 operating system and potentially new devices, such as a tablet.

Given that the U.S. currently has the largest smartphone user base — Canalys estimates 14.7 million smartphones were purchased in the U.S. last quarter — it’s easy to overlook the current king of smartphone sales globally: Nokia. In the second quarter of 2010, the Finnish phone-maker sold 23.8 million handsets. Nokia saw a 41 percent growth rate over the prior year’s second quarter sales, which sounds positive, but when compared to Android’s 886 percent gain, Nokia’s growth pales in comparison. The overall smartphone market is growing, which is lifting sales of nearly all. But some — like Android — are clearly growing far faster than others.