Gartner released a forecast today that confirms what everyone has been thinking: Google’s Android is taking off fast.
By the end of the year, Android is expected to be the top-selling mobile operating system in North America, and by the end of a four-year period, Android will be closely in line with Symbian, the world’s long-time leader.
The growth will be fueled by players, such as Samsung, Song Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT), which will be releasing a ton of low-cost smartphones later this year based on Android. That will lead to Android outselling everyone else in the U.S., including Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and RIM (NSDQ: RIMM), as soon as this year. Globally, it will take at least four years for Android to threaten Symbian’s top spot.
Song Ericsson?
Symbian is NOT a smartphone platform! It’s a high-school dropout compared to Android and iOS. When will we stop seeing these ridiculous stats about Nokia’s market share? Why do you think they’re in such bad shape — they actually think they have real smartphone market share!