The Android operating system, introduced by Google in 2007, was on only a handful of phones at the beginning of 2010. But by the end of the year, dozens of new devices sporting the open OS were available on every major U.S. operator's network. AT&T was the last of the four wireless giants to get Android, announcing it would have at least five Android phones in January 2010.
TheIn April, ComScore data showed the Android mobile platform growing faster than any other mobile platform on the market. By November Gartner placed Android second in terms of worldwide smartphone market share. The OS accounted for 25 percent of the market in the third quarter, Gartner reported. The year before it accounted for only about 3.5 percent of the worldwide smartphone market. Sales of Android phones only trailed sales of phones running Nokia's Symbian operating system.
Android phones have taken off in part because they can hit different consumer segments, Gartner said. Samsung has done well with high-end phones like the Galaxy S. But lower-price models are also proving popular as evidenced by ZTE's recent launch of a low-cost Android phone available in the U.K. as a prepaid package.
Phone makers went on a tear in 2010, releasing one hot Android phone after another. Some of the most popular devices were sold by Verizon Wireless, which focused marketing dollars on Android phones. In the spring, Verizon introduced the HTC Incredible, followed by the Motorola Droid X in the summer. These devices proved to be hugely popular with consumers.
But Verizon's rivals were not to be outdone. Sprint Nextel launched the Evo 4G, Sprint's first 4G phone, which also happened to be built on the Android OS. T-Mobile came out with the T-Mobile G2 and T-Mobile myTouch, both phones made by HTC.
These phones, among other Android devices, were some of the hottest smartphones of the year. And because they were in such high demand, some manufacturers struggled to keep up. By summer, thousands of customers looking for the HTC Evo and HTC Incredible left stores empty-handed. A sparse supply of components resulted in device shortages across the country.
While Google made big strides with the Android platform, Apple also managed to have another big year with the iPhone. The company launched the fourth generation of the iPhone, the iPhone 4, in June. The device, which added a slew of new features, including a video chat app called Facetime and one of the best display screens on the market, was highly anticipated.
Enthusiasm was at its peak for the new iPhone 4 when pictures of a prototype of the device showed up on Gawker Media's Gizmodo Web site. An engineer had accidently left the prototype at a bar where someone picked it up and offered it to Gizmodo for an early look. The dustup over the lost/stolen iPhone created a big stir, as the Gizmodo writer, who published the pictures, became the target of a police investigation, which culminated in a raid of his Silicon Valley apartment.
As expected, the iPhone 4 was a hit, even despite the fact that AT&T changed its data billing plan, eliminating its unlimited data service and replacing it with a tiered offering.
During the third quarter, AT&T, which still has the exclusive rights to sell the iPhone, said it activated more than 8 million smartphones, of which about 5.2 million were iPhones. It was the "most iPhone activations ever in a quarter," the carrier said. During the second quarter of 2010, AT&T activated 3.2 million iPhones.
But some consumers were initially unhappy with the iPhone 4, as it was quickly discovered that the phone's antenna, which runs along the outside of the device, could be undermined when holding the phone a certain way. After a few weeks of bumbling explanations, Apple fixed the problem by providing free rubber bumpers to new iPhone 4 customers.
Beyond the iPhone 4 and the various Android devices, other smartphone manufacturers came on the scene with new devices. For example, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion finally released its next-generation operating system, BlackBerry OS 6. The BlackBerry Torch, which has a touch screen and a QWERTY keypad, was the first device to get the new software. Microsoft alsolaunched its Windows Phone 7 devices on AT&T.
But other platforms that had been hyped in 2009 faded into the background, namely the Palm Pre. Palm was acquired in April by Hewlett-Packard, and soon after that, Palm became more of an afterthought in the rapidly evolving smartphone market.
What's ahead for the smartphone market in 2011? More Android devices top the list. Specifically, Verizon Wireless is expected to continue backing Android with a slew of new devices that will run on its LTE 4G wireless network. But the really big news is likely to be the end of AT&T's exclusive on the iPhone. Verizon is expected to announce a version of the iPhone for its network early in 2011. So stay tuned.
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