Samsung steals top Android phone manufacturer crown from Motorola

December 3, 2010 1:08 PM
Devindra Hardawar
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Motorola is no longer the king of Android phones, as Samsung is responsible for 32.1 percent of all Android phones shipped in the US this past quarter, according to a report by the research firm Gartner.

The company also announced that it has sold 1 million Galaxy Tab Android tablets in less than two months since its launch.

The cause of Samsung’s smartphone success isn’t a big secret. Clearly, the company’s multi-carrier approach with its high-end Galaxy S Android phones is taking off. The shipment numbers are a 300 percent increase over Samsung’s Android ship rate in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Given that Samsung announced that it shipped 3 million Galaxy S phones in early November, and that the phones are available on all major US carriers, it’s also not a huge surprise to see Samsung now in the top Android phone maker spot. Gartner reports that Motorola fell to the No. 2 spot, with HTC and LG in the third and fourth spots respectively.

Now it makes perfect sense why Google chose Samsung for its upcoming Nexus S flagship device.

As for the Tab — which is also available across all major US carriers, and retails between $400 (with contract) and $650 — Samsung is proving that it can compete somewhat with Apple’s iPad. The sales numbers are impressive considering that the Tab garnered mixed reviews. Despite its flaws, it appears that some consumers are still choosing it over the iPad, perhaps because of its smaller form factor — or simply because it’s the only viable Android tablet on the market right now.

  • http://twitter.com/cho_ak Andrew Cho

    “Now it makes perfect sense why Google chose Motorola for its upcoming Nexus S flagship device.”I thought Nexus S was manufactured by Samsung?

  • http://www.advancedwebads.com/ Mel Webads

    Motorola is never known to make gadgets that are user friendly thus they will always lose market share just like what happened before where they lose to Nokia on mobile devices market. Motorola should start hiring people who knows how make their gadgets user friendly. But I like Motorola phones as they are durable and with higher sensitivity on wireless signal.

  • http://www.devindra.org Devindra Hardawar

    Sorry that's exactly what I meant to write, otherwise it makes no sense ;) Fixing

  • http://www.devindra.org Devindra Hardawar

    Not user friendly? I think the success of the Droid phones proves that wrong.

  • Matt Marshall

    I like my Droid X, but I've got to admit I really disliked the clunky, ugly feel of the Droid 1 and Droid 2.

  • http://twitter.com/mikefordbrown Michael Ford Brown

    Android has been pushed as the savior of companies like Motorola and Sony Ericsson but in the end it looks like a false dawn. I am not sure that Motorola can survive on an Android only diet.

    After a while the same will happen to Samsung with competition from the likes of Heuwai and ZTE.

    The only real winner of the Android game is Google. It is the old Windows story being played out on a smaller screen.

    “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.

  • http://www.devindra.org Devindra Hardawar

    I'm not sure it would benefit manufacturers much to have their own mobile OS platform. Look at Nokia. Motorola, Samsung, and the like can each use Android in their own different ways. Android won't let every cellphone manufacturer be successful, but it's certainly a useful tool for those that spend significant effort on using the platform.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RDYIDZQCGJQZBSOGLY2H7BBKM4 Anthony E

    Previous comment about Windows is appropriate (although Android is certainly a lot cheaper!). Since they all had Windows OS, the PC makers had to compete on other things (e.g. price, design, supply chain, etc.). Those companies that are well run and whose products offer additional value to consumers beyond Android will be successful. Those companies that offer nothing significant beyond Android will fail as consumers migrate to better designed and more full featured products.

  • http://www.mc-safety.de Rettungszeichen

    I´ve tried many mobiles so far. Those built by Motorola and Samsung were the most user unfriendly.

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