Tablets are becoming a hot topic for smartphone users, especially in 2011. Who currently holds the top spot in the tablet market? Apple’s iPad does, but keep in mind that all could change really quick with Android tablets booming into the market. Android is catching up and it looks like they could pass Apple and take their spot.

Take a look at the numbers provided by market research and see what you think. Basically, in 2010, the iPad had 84.1% of the worldwide tablet market and Android had 13.1%. Yes, it’s safe to say iPad is still ahead of the tablet market, as of now. However, in the third quarter of 2010, the iPad held 95.5% of the market, and Android had a mere 2.3%. Here’s where it gets good: In the fourth quarter, Apple’s tablet captured 75.3 % of worldwide market share, while Android tablets had an huge increase of 21.6 percent share, according to market-research firm Strategy Analytics.

Now we can only watch and wait to see what happens next when not only the iPad 2 comes out but several Android tablets are on the way as well. Who will hold this top spot? Keep in mind, they aren’t the only ones battling for tablet popularity and that number one spot. The Motorola Xoom and LG-Slate will throw some more competition their way, don’t you think? Which one will you have? Let us know your comments in the comment box below.

Source: CNET & Androinica

Finally, Android has caught up to the iPhone in total users as of November of last year. Hopefully Decembers reports will be even better for them. Not that I have anything against the iPhone but Android has come a long ways in just a couple of years!

Blackberry is still at the top of the list as of November as well with 33.5% of users, but that number marks a drop from August, when Blackberry held 37.6%. Apple’s iPhone held relatively steady up from 24.2% in August to 25% in November. Meanwhile, Android continued its huge growth climbing up from 19.6% in August to 26% in November, claiming #2 on the list from comScore.

Most of the smartphone users expect Blackberry to lose it’s position very soon with the rate Android is growing. Maybe Blackberry has a huge plan, especially with the Playbook and maybe they plan to keep that spot. Only time will tell. What do you think?

Source: Comscore & Androinica

The race for the lead is on! Numbers are increasing consistently and Nielsen has the results spreading around the web like wildfires. According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android OS among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40%) makes it the leading OS among recent acquirers. This is the most recent recording available.

When it comes to overall consumer market share, according to Nielsen, Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6%). RIM Blackberry’s position is (26.1%) putting it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android. In other words, RIM remains statistically tied with both Apple for first and Android for third. Did you expect to hear that?

We can tell from these results that all three smartphone OS leaders – Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry and Android are benefitting from strong demand for smartphones. In November, 45 percent of recent acquirers chose a smartphone over a feature phone. Guess we can say the world is relying more on technology in phones these days. Would you agree? Let us know what you think about these results.

Source: BGR & Nielsen

The leading market research company, The NPD Group, has announced that Android has surpassed Apple’s OS market (primarily being the IPhone) to be now only behind RIM in the mobile market. Based on unit sales to consumers last quarter, the Android operating system moved into second place at 28 percent behind RIM’s OS (at 36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s OS (at 21 percent).

So what does this mean now that the grasshopper OS, being popularized for only two years, has surpassed its Apple predecessor which has had a year head start over it. More importantly, what does it mean for “Big Giant” RIM, whom held the market by storm for years now, seeing smaller, younger OSes gobbling up their market share.

Another important figure is that according to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

Tell us your thoughts!

According to the NPD group, a large majority of Android Sales are in part due to the release of Verizon Wireless’s DROID, Incredible, and T-Mobile’s frontrunning of the MyPhone and older Android devices.

Android Shakes Up U.S. Smartphone Market

First quarter 2010 information from The NPD Group’s Mobile Phone Track reveals a shift in the smartphone market, as Android OS edged out Apple’s OS for the number-two position behind RIM.

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, May 10, 2010 – The Android operating system (OS) continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, moving past Apple for to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. NPD’s wireless market researchreveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28 percent behind RIM’s OS (36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s OS (21 percent).

“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.”

Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless’s smartphone sales on par with AT&T in Q1. According to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

“Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry’s willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices,” Rubin said. “Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future.”

The continued popularity of messaging phones and smartphones resulted in slightly higher prices for all mobile phones, despite an overall drop in the number of mobile phones purchased in the first quarter. The average selling price for all mobile phones in Q1 reached $88, which is a 5 percent increase from Q1 2009. Smartphone unit prices, by comparison, averaged $151 in Q1 2010, which is a 3 percent decrease over the previous year.

Methodology: The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically-representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers. Note: Sales figures do not include corporate/enterprise mobile phone sales.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information,contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup.