Android powered 40.8 percent of smartphones purchased in the U.S. in the last six months compared to 27 percent for Apple iOS, although Apple still led in overall share at 28.6 percent, according to the Nielsen Company. Meanwhile, Samsung claims to have shipped 10 million Android-based Galaxy S phones, and Wirefly says Android dominated its online holiday shopping tally.

In the six-month period from June to November 2010, 40.8 percent of smartphones purchased in the U.S. ran the Google-backed, Linux-based Android operating system while 27 percent of devices ran Apple's iOS (the iPhone), according to The Nielsen Company's latest report. Taking up third place was Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry handsets, with 19 percent, says the market research firm.

U.S. smartphone OS share among six-month adult recent acquirers (Jun. - Nov. 2010)
Source: The Nielsen Company
(Click to enlarge)

Apple led the way, however, on overall market share, with 28.6 percent, up from 27 percent in October, says Nielsen. RIM's BlackBerry dropped from 27 percent to 26.1 percent the month before while Android's market share grew the fastest, tallying 25.8 percent, up from Nielsen's October Android count of 22.7 percent.

U.S. smartphone OS share (adults, Jun. – Nov. 2010)
Source: The Nielsen Company
(Click to enlarge)

According to Nielsen, the race for smartphone market share is "tighter than it has ever been." Most of the gains for Android and iOS came at the expense of RIM, which commanded 34 percent of the U.S. smartphone market as recently as June. Smartphone purchases continued to gain on feature phones, says the research firm. In November, 45 percent of recent acquirers chose a smartphone over a feature phone.

Samsung sells 10 million Galaxy S phones

Samsung says that it has shipped some 10 million Galaxy S smartphone variants worldwide since its June 2010 release date, reports our sister site eWEEK. The Galaxy Tab managed to sell more than one million units worldwide within two months of its first release.

Available on all major U.S. carriers under various names, including AT&T's Samsung Captivate (pictured), the Galaxy S is also sold in many countries around the world.

Although the 10 million figure is said to have met Samsung's sales target for the devices, the company in November said it expected to sell 20 million Galaxy S smartphones in 2010. (Okay, Samsung is better at sales than at sales projections.)

The claim of strong Galaxy S sales is backed up by a number of sources including recent Wirefly sales figures (below). A comScore smartphone report released in November said that U.S. smartphone consumers use Samsung handsets more than any others.

The basic Samsung Galaxy S design includes a 1GHz processor and a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screen. Carriers for the smartphone are offering their own hardware tweaks, such as the 4G WiMAX radio and sliding QWERTY keyboard on Sprint's Samsung Epic 4G.

Wirefly: Android led holiday cell phone sales

Android phones topped Wirefly's annual list of its top 10 best-selling cellular phones during the 2010 holiday shopping season, reports eWEEK. Wirefly, an online retailer of cell phones and service plans, said that smartphones claimed every position on the list, and Android handsets took nine of the top 10 spots.

The figures are skewed, however, in that Wirefly does not sell Apple's iPhone. Nevertheless, Wirefly's list of top 10 selling phones seemed to back up Android's strong push, led by Samsung.

Although HTC took the top two spots, four of the remaining phones were Galaxy S variants. HTC's Evo 4G, exclusively available on Sprint's network, led the list as the company's top-selling phone over the holiday season, followed by Verizon's Droid Incredible (pictured below, left), also by HTC. AT&T's Galaxy S spinoff, the Samsung Captivate (pictured farther above) came in third, followed by the Motorola Droid X (Verizon) and another Galaxy S phone, Sprint's Samsung Intercept.

The remaining five spots were taken by the BlackBerry Torch 9800, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (both on AT&T's network), Verizon's Droid 2 Global by Motorola and Samsung Fascinate, and Sprint's QWERTY slider version of the Galaxy S, the Samsung Epic 4G.

Wirefly also offered up some predictions for the new year, including a push toward contract-free phone purchases, and an influx of affordably priced, prepaid predominantly Android smartphones. 4G will also have a greater impact on the market, and front-facing cameras and smartphone videoconferencing will surge, predicts Wirefly.

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