NPD: Android Surging, BlackBerry Falling, Apple Flat
Here's a chart pretty much guaranteed to get teeth grinding in Cupertino - new data from NPD showing Android extending its lead as America's most popular mobile operating system. — The consumer research group says that Google's software …
Context & Ripple Effects
Two October measurements had already placed Android ahead among recent U.S. smartphone buyers and described its competitive advance against RIM and Apple. NPD's reading reinforces that buyer-acquisition lead with a third independent snapshot, while separating Android's gains from Apple's flat position and BlackBerry's decline.
The significance is competitive rather than merely statistical: Google’s software is improving its position in the same U.S. market where RIM and Apple are trying to win new smartphone customers.
First-order effects
- Google and Android handset partners gain a stronger U.S. market-share narrative, while BlackBerry faces a documented loss of position and Apple lacks comparable share momentum in NPD’s data.
Second-order effects
- RIM and Apple face greater pressure to improve new-buyer acquisition, as the earlier competitive challenge from Android is corroborated by another market-research source.
Third-order effects
- If repeated buyer-share gains translate into durable installed-base gains, U.S. smartphone competition shifts toward an Android-led multi-handset ecosystem rather than a market anchored by BlackBerry’s earlier position.
The trend: U.S. smartphone competition is tilting toward Android as successive measurements show it gaining buyers while BlackBerry contracts and Apple holds steady.