Google's Android open source mobile phone platform, and the manufacturers that are making products based on the operating system, are growing market share rapidly worldwide as more and more consumers adopt the technology.

According to IDC, Android partners, including HTC and Samsung, experienced the highest year-over-year growth in the smartphone market, with four of the top 10 vendors, all of which offer Android phones, posting more than 100% growth over last year. The top supplier of Android smartphones during the last quarter, based on unit shipments, was HTC.

"Emerging smartphone suppliers, such as HTC, that are allied closely with Google, gained share at the expense of the historic top smartphone players last quarter," says Kevin Restivo, Senior Research Analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program. "This is largely a result of greater consumer interest in smartphones generally and Android devices in particular."

Overall, IDC reports that the worldwide smartphone market grew 50% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2010, with 63 million smartphones shipped, compared to just 41.9 million units during the same quarter of 2009. For the first half of 2010, vendors shipped a total of 118.3 million units, up 54% from the 76.8 million units shipped during the first half of 2009.

And the future outlook looks good.

"The worldwide smartphone market will continue this explosive growth in the second half of 2010, setting up a critical starting point for 2011," predicts Ramon Llamas, Senior Research Analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. He adds that more important than the fact that we'll see new models come to fruition is that we'll see new and refreshed operating systems. "Both BlackBerry and Symbian are poised with fresh, yet familiar experiences, while Windows Phone 7 promises a complete break from previous versions," he explains. "All these are expected to launch in the second half of 2010, and their reception among end-users will indicate their future in this fast-growing segment of the market for 2011 and beyond."

In terms of manufacturer ranking in worldwide market share, Nokia remains on top with 38.1% share; followed by Research in Motion (RIM) at 17.8% share. Rounding out the top three is Apple at 13.3% share. In fourth spot is HTC (7.6%) followed by Samsung (4.8%), which posted its highest smartphone growth rate since Q3 2008. The Galaxy S, which launched in Canada today through Bell (under the moniker Vibrant) is predicted to be a hit for the manufacturer.

All of the top five vendors enjoyed increases from Q2 2009 except for Nokia, which saw its share decline, albeit by a modest 2.2%. RIM managed to break the 11 million units shipped figure for the first time ever in its history, due in large part to new devices like the BlackBerry Pearl 3G. While the Canadian company posted triple-digit growth, share globally and in North America dropped. However, share in regions like Asia/Pacific (minus Japan) rose. The latest controversy, however, in spots like the United Arab Emirates and India, could have a negative effect on foreign marketshare for the third and fourth quarters. The new BlackBerry Torch touch-screen device, based on the new 6.0 operating system, is poised to generate additional sales for the company.

All in all, things are looking good for the smartphone market, and particularly promising for the manufacturers supporting the Android platform.

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