Android gains in US, basic phones almost extinct
Washington (AFP) - The Google Android platform grabbed the majority of mobile phones in the US market in early 2014, as consumers all but abandoned non-smartphone handsets, a survey showed Friday.
The poll by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found 53 percent of new mobile phones activated by US customers were Android devices in the January-March period.
Apple's iOS, the platform used by the iPhone, accounted for 42 percent, the survey found.
Windows and BlackBerry devices each accounted for one percent, while non-smartphones were just three percent, the research firm said. Late last year 20 percent bought a "basic" mobile phone.
Research firm co-founder Mike Levin said Apple's iPhone user base "grew a little faster than Android, from a smaller base, even though in absolute terms Android -- used in Samsung phones -- had a larger share.
He added: "The long-term issue is where Android and iOS growth will come from when there are no more basic phones being retired. First-time smartphone buyers are key to that equation."
The report was based on a survey of 500 US adults, from April 1 to 6, who activated a new or used phone in the first three months of the year.
Recent surveys of global phone users show Android has a nearly 80 percent share of smartphone sales.
