14 DAY TRIAL // Google's Android operating system is reportedly on track to become the most popular mobile platform around the world, as it has just become the leader on the Asian market, overtaking the Symbian OS.
A recent report from research company GfK shows that Android managed to win the hearts of more users than Symbian did, and that it is currently the most popular smartphone operating system in eastern Asia.
At the same time, the company's reports show that Android is currently the second most used smartphone platform in the world, in line with what Gartner said not too long ago. Over 25 percent of smartphones out there are running under Android, it seems.
“Our Q3 report shows that Android has recently overtaken Symbian as the most popular smartphone OS in the context of Asia as a whole, in both value and unit sales," GfK stated, a recent article on TNW reads.
"However, it is interesting to note the difference in OS trends when we look at findings in North and Southeast Asia separately,” the company continues.
The research firm also notes that its estimation was based on data collected from Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The sales of smartphones on the Asian market went up to 4.7 million units over the last year, enjoying a growth of over 270 percent.
The sales of smartphones totaled $1.48 billion on the Asian market, and accounted for about half of the worldwide sales registered during the previous twelve months.
However, even if Android is already the most popular smartphone OS in Asia, the Symbian platform remains the leader on the Southern Asia, although it is currently experiencing lower sales, as mobile phone makers are launching fewer devices with the platform on board.
In Asia, the main drivers for Android's increase were Samsung and HTC, with came to shelves with high-end, powerful Android smartphones that already became more used than computers.
Google's Android operating system is expected to enjoy even more growth in the following years too, as the platform was said to become the leading OS worldwide by 2013.