By Vamien McKalin | Sep 30, 2012 10:25 AM EDT
Android has become one of Google's most successful products and one of its most important ventures. With a new report suggesting that Android's success may be mainly due to the efforts of Samsung, Google may be wondering what would happen if Samsung one day choses to drop Android for its own operating system or a rival OS like Windows Phone.
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In a recent report from the IDC in August, it turns out that Samsung shipped 44% of all Android devices in 2012; the remaining percentage is shared among 7 other Android OEMs. This may not bode well for Google if only one OEM is accounting for such a significant share of Android device sales. Samsung is not only building a fanbase around Android; the company is also building a fanbase around itself. If Samsung chooses to leave Android behind, it could potentially convince the lion's share of its fans to follow.
"Android's success in the market can be traced directly to Samsung, which accounted for 44.0% of all Android smartphones shipped in 2Q12 and totaled more than the next seven Android vendors' volumes combined. Meanwhile, the next seven vendors were a mix of companies re-establishing their strategies or growing volumes within key markets. Also not to be overlooked was the growing relevance of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with the release of numerous models worldwide."
Take a look at Nokia, for example. The company is struggling, but it retains the fanbase it acquired over the years of its dominance. Many Nokia fans have chosen to follow the company and switch to Windows Phone, which will no doubt help the growth of that platform.
If Google wishes to keep Android on top, it would do well to push Motorola into the position of top-selling Android OEM, so the future of Android would rest in the hands of the Google-owned OEM. It is clear that Samsung does not want to rely on Android for its future success, hence ventures into its own smartphones with the Bada operating system onboard and its pledge to release smartphones in 2013 based on the Tizen operating system.
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