By 2014, Android and the Symbian OS are predicted to dominate the mobile operating system market according to a recent report by research firm Gartner.
In 2010, Symbian held 40.1 percent of the total mobile OS market share, while Android held 16.3 percent. By 2014, they are predicted to hold a combined 59.8 percent of the mobile market share. This news may come as a shock to competitors and consumers alike. iOS is predicted to drop from 14.7 to 10.9 percent, while Blackberry OS should remain fairly consistent, with only a slight drop from 17.9 to 17.3 percent.
“As the worldwide smartphone market continues to grow at a strong rate, the market dynamics among mobile operating systems continue to shift,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team.
“Phone vendors have been drawn to Android because it allows them to present their own approach to what a smartphone experience can be,” Llamas added. “In addition, users have quickly warmed to Android, comparing it to iOS due to its ease of use and a growing mobile application storefront.”
2014 is a long way off, so these predictions could easily change. One thing that is for certain though, is marketers will be keeping a close eye on the mobile OS war.
