Over the past three months the sales of Google’s Android-based phones have increase in the UK, according to recently released figures. German-based GfK Retail and Technology, published recent research that reveals that Android operated phones now cover a 13 per cent share of the UK’s smartphone contract sales, which is a huge increase compared to three per cent at the start of the year.
It’s thought that the increase is because of a rise in uptake of new smartphones as customers start to look for more in their mobiles when their old contacts end, plus an increase in competition thanks to the Apple iPhone4. The Google Android system runs on an open-source, Linux-based system and many mobiles which use this system have received acclaim by many critics. This has helped fuel the fire of many handset manufacturers, who want to make an indent into the market which is currently dominated by Apple.
GfK analyst Megan Baldock commented that: “The figures suggest an increasing number of consumers are now asking for Android handsets by name. Operating Systems are no longer simply a by-product but a key selling point in their own right.”
The latest figures from GfK Retail and Technology show that between Q1 and Q2 of this year contract market sales grew by less than 1 per cent, sales of Android phones increased by a staggering 350 per cent which is also helped by the number of Android mobile phone deals available.