Android Grows at a Blistering Pace

Google’s open source Android operating system ranks fourth in terms of market share among smartphone platforms in the U.S. but is growing at a faster pace than its rivals.

About 13 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers used an Android phone in the quarter that ended May, up 4 percent from the previous quarter, according to comScore’s Mobilens service.

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry remained the number one smartphone platform with 41.7 percent share among consumers.

Apple ranked number two with 24.4 percent share and Microsoft third with 13.2 percent, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.8 percent.

Android’s growth should come as no surprise to mobile enthusiasts. More than 20 Android phones are available in the U.S. currently. Handset makers such as LG and Samsung that have been slower than rivals Motorola and HTC in adopting Android are now planning to launch new Android devices.

Earlier this week, LG said it will have two Android smartphones and an Android-based tablet available by the end of the year. Samsung has already announced that its first 4G Android phone on Sprint will be available this summer.

This focus on Android has taken its toll on other mobile operating systems. Almost all platforms, with the exception of Android, lost some market share in the quarter. BlackBerry market share was down 0.4 percent, while Apple lost about 1 percent. The data does not include the iPhone 4, which launched in June.

Android’s growth doesn’t mean other smartphone systems are losing ground, says comScore. The number of people who own a smartphone in the U.S. grew 8.1 percent last quarter to 9.1 million people, which indicates that the overall pie is growing.

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