NPD: Android Topped RIM For First Time in Q2

With a slew of new handset options, the Android operating system is attracting a steady stream of new customers. Now, for the first time, Android has topped Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform as the top mobile OS sold to U.S. consumers in the second quarter, according to Wednesday data from NPD Group.

During the second quarter, about 33 percent of new smartphone purchases were for Android-based phones, compared to 28 percent for BlackBerry, and 22 percent for Apple's iPhone.

"For the second consecutive quarter, Android handsets have shown strong but slowing sell-through market share gains among U.S. consumers," Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, said in a statement. "While the Google-developed OS took market share from RIM, Apple's iOS saw a small gain this quarter on the strength of the iPhone 4 launch."

The most popular Android phones were the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Incredible, the HTC EVO 4G, the HTC Hero, and the HTC Droid Eris.

RIM on Tuesday announced its new BlackBerry Torch smartphone, but NPD was skeptical the release will be sufficient to do battle against Android.

"Blackberry 6 will soon offer features that have been popular in recently launched Android handsets, such as support for capacitive touch screens and a WebKit-based browser," Rubin said. "However, the Blackberry Torch lacks the large screen allure that has characterized the best selling Android devices at its price point, including the Droid Incredible and EVO 4G."

In terms of carriers, Verizon Wireless is still the most popular, powering 33 percent of new units sold in the second quarter. That was followed by AT&T with 25 percent, Sprint with 12 percent, and T-Mobile with 11 percent.

As NPD noted, Verizon ran a buy-one, get-one offering on all smartphones throughout the second quarter, including RIM and Android models. The average selling price for a mobile phone in the second quarter was $90, up 3 percent from the same time period last year. Smartphones averaged $143, up from 9 percent from last year.

Earlier this week, Nielsen also reported that Android has seen significant gains in the last six months, but Nielsen said that, overall, RIM still has 35 percent of the mobile OS market share in the U.S., followed by the iPhone with 28 percent, Windows Mobile with 15 percent, and Android with 13 percent.

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