Android device shipments will grow twice as fast as devices running rival operating systems in 2011, as the number of updates to the platform slows, Canalys predicts.
Concerns over fragmentation of the Google platform and the launch of the iPhone by Verizon Wireless won’t stem the flow of Android sales, which grew 1,000% year-on-year in the nine months to end-September, the research firm states.
Vendors are likely to find it easier to work on Android as Google slows the pace of platform upgrades. “As additional investment is required to ensure compatibility with each operating system upgrade, this has hampered vendors’ efforts to stay up-to-date with the latest Android iteration on current devices,” principal analyst Chris Jones says.
Android’s greatest success has been getting mainstream smartphone vendors including Samsung and HTC on-board, while also allowing less well known brands like Acer to make a play for smartphone sales.
However, Google must boost Android Market to ensure continued developer backing for the platform, senior analyst Daryl Chiam says. “[T]he ability to detect device platforms, highlighting the applications suitable for each...would improve the user experience and increase the number of downloads.”