By Sumit Passary | Nov 16, 2012 09:26 AM EST
Android-powered smartphones have become favorites in China after achieving more than 90 percent market share according to a report from Analysys International.
Google's mobile operating system Android had been growing rapidly since last year where the OS had 58.2 percent market share in Q3 2011. In Q2 2012, Android captured 82.8 percent and in Q3 2012, the market share soared to 90.1 percent.
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The figures were revealed by Beijing-based Analysys International (via TechInAsia). The report also indicates that iOS dropped from 6 percent to 4.2 percent from Q2 to Q3 this year. However, the report notes that the data does not include gray market imports. The iPhone 5 is not yet officially available in China, and many sellers are unofficially importing the iPhone 5 from Hong Kong.
Nokia's Symbian has taken a severe hit as the OS dropped from 6 percent in Q2 to 2.4 percent in Q3. Notably, Symbian was a key player in China a few years ago. In Q3 2011, Symbian had 23.3 percent market share. With Nokia launching Windows Phone 8 (WP8) devices like Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 it may not come as a surprise if Symbian vanishes altogether from the chart in the coming years.
The report also indicates that low-priced smartphones continued to gain popularity, as the average price for Android devices fell from $251(RMB 1560) to ($223) RMB 1393. The average price for a Symbian smartphone came to $179 (RMB 1114) and iOS run iPhone prices dropped slightly to $726 (RMB 4523).
With a market share of over 90 percent, Google will have to take China as its stronghold on the Android OS front; however, with limited or restricted access to Google services, the company is still to capitalize on the growing user-base.
Android and iOS have been the key players in the mobile ecosystem. With Blackberry and Symbian losing their magic, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft's newly launched WP8 can make any difference to Android's market share in the near term.
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