The headlines seem to shout that Android from Google (GOOG) is beating the pants off of Apple (AAPL).
ABI Research last week reported that over 300 million smartphones shipped in 2010, a more than 70 percent growth over 2009. ABI estimates that by 2016, Android will own 45 percent of the market.
But that’s five years away. And that’s phones. What’s happening now?
Apple Insider reports that Apple is holding its ground online and in app sales thanks to the popularity bump from the iPad tab.
Daniel Eran Dilger said in Apple Insider that iOS and iPad web outpace all Android devices combined on the Web—even though Android’s installed base surpasses Apple’s iPhone 4. “This mirrors additional data that underlines Apple’s lead in both mobile browsing and app sales, refuting recent reports that claim Android is displacing iOS,” he said.
Dilger cited a study by SEO firm ROI365 covering 4 million unique visitors across a large portfolio of websites that reveals that Android’s share of web visits over the iPhone “is very slight and has not grown much over the past quarter.” But that’s not the whole story.
“The Android stats are for the total platform while iOS stats are broken out into three categories: iPhone, iPad and iPod. Android has never come close to passing iOS as a whole,” said Jeff Tribble of ROI365.
Tribble noted iPad makes the difference, “outgrowing the entire Android ecosystem so significantly [that] it more than makes up for the iPhone deficiency plus some. And it just launched three weeks ago and millions of people who want them can’t get their hands on them yet.”
Dilger finds more evidence for Apple’s success in its App Store, where revenue growth was 11 times greater than Android Market last year.
“This means that despite large sales of Android handsets, among web browsers, Apple’s iOS is clearly remaining the [dominant] mobile platform. This mirrors Apple’s native app business, which is far larger than any other mobile platform in both numbers of titles and revenues generated,” he said.
