Android to dominate by 2016

Android will hold 45 per cent of the smartphone market by 2016 as the Google OS looks set to become even more popular, an analyst report has claimed.

ABI Research predicted Apple's iOS would only see moderate growth over the mid-term to hold 19 per cent market share.

Figures from IDC recently showed shipments of Android phones grew by more than 1,500 per cent in just one year.

"Android, Bada and BlackBerry have a great opportunity to fill the vacuum being left by the disappearance of the Symbian OS within the next two years," said ABI Research senior analyst Michael Morgan.

Samsung's Bada has seen particularly impressive growth in its brief life and could even hit 10 per cent market share by 2016, Morgan said.

RIM will continue to perform well, having achieved 15 per cent market share in 2010, to hold 14 per cent in five years time, according to the analyst firm.

But Windows Phone 7 may find it difficult to gain a hold on the market, Morgan said.

"Windows Phone 7, on the other hand, which shipped in two million handsets in Q4 2010, will have to find incredible success through its Nokia channel to take more than seven per cent of the market by 2016," he said.

The report also showed 302 million smartphones were shipped in 2010, representing a significant 71 per cent growth over 2009's shipment levels.

"The overall smartphone market growth for 2010 is not really so surprising: what is more significant is the 19 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) contained in our forecasts through 2016," added ABI Research vice president Kevin Burden.