Research firm Gartner has spelled out Android and Apple’s dominance in the global smartphone market, revealing the Q1 sales figures today.
Android moved to 36 percent share from 9.6 percent in the Q1 2010, with sales increasing to 36 million from 5 million year-over-year (YoY).
Symbian, the now defunct smartphone OS, fell from 44.2 percent share to 27.4 percent, even though sales increased to 27.6 million from 24.1 million. Symbian should eventually fall to 0 as Symbian has been left for dead by Nokia as they move on to Windows Phone 7.
Apple’s iOS saw 16.9 million sales and 16.8 percent share, up from 15.3 percent share and 8.4 million sales.
RIM, despite growth for its BlackBerry smartphones, saw market share collapse to 12.9 percent from 19.7 percent. Sales increased to 13 million from 10.75 million.
Microsoft saw a weak introduction for its Windows Phone 7 line and market share fell to 3.6 percent from 6.8 percent. Sales saw a minor fall, from 3.7 million to 3.66 million.
Other OS, like Bada, accounted for the rest of the sales.
Result for: 6 million
IDC has posted their latest figures for European smartphone sales and unsurprisingly Android has taken the top spot, with 31 percent share.
Overall smartphone sales increased 100 percent to 25.6 million in the Q4 2010, while feature phone sales dropped 25 percent. Combined, Western European phone sales grew 3.2 percent to 58.7 million units.
Android saw the highest growth, 1580 percent, to 8 million units sold. iOS saw its constant strong growth continue at 66 percent. Windows Phone 7 saw 18 percent growth but the number is artificially high because Windows Mobile sales were so low to begin with.
Result for: 6 million
If you think you may have an STD (sexually-transmitted disease) but are too embarrassed to see a doctor about it, you may be in luck soon.
British health officials are currently developing a mobile phone app that will allow users to get diagnosed within minutes, and without needing to head to a clinic or a doctor’s office.
The impressive app would work as follows (via Guardian): “A user would put urine or saliva on a computer chip about the size of a USB chip and then plug it into their phone or computer. And voila, a diagnosis will appear right before their eyes.”
There have been over $6 million dollars invested into the project already by the U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration.
Lead researcher Dr. Tariq Sadiq, consultant physician in sexual health and HIV at St. George’s, University of London says: “Your mobile phone can be your mobile doctor. We need to tackle the rising epidemic of STIs, which have been going up and up and up. Britain is one of the worst [countries] in western Europe for teenage pregnancy and STIs.”
If the app confirms you have an STD, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea or herpes, the app “tells you where to go next to get treatment.”
