Android sales charge led by large-screen devices

You don't have to be a mobile market analyst to realize that larger screen devices are beginning to take over. When it comes to smartphones, many people are opting for the largest screen devices they can get their hands on. The bigger the screen, the better the phone tends to be for watching video and surfing the web with a downside of losing pocketability.

A new report has been issued by market research company Kantar Worldpanel ComTech that looks at smartphone sales over the last 12 weeks. The numbers show that Android smartphones are continuing to extend their lead in the market against devices running other operating systems, except in the US. The numbers also show that larger screen Android devices are leading the sales charge.

According to the numbers, 29% of all Android devices sold in the last three months had a screen of over 4.5-inches in size. The numbers also show that in Europe, Android has grown its market share to 20.2% in the last year. Android devices now make up two-thirds of all smartphones sold in Europe. Interestingly, in the US Android is seeing a market share decline as it grows significantly in other countries.

The numbers show that Android market share in the US declined by 4.5% in the face of iOS increasing its market share almost 9% compared to the previous year. Android is dominating sales in other countries though, notably in Spain Android is said to hold almost 90% of the smartphone market share. Kantar reports that Android has a cumulative share of 61% of the smartphone market across the eight most important markets in the world. iOS holds 24% share in eight markets with other operating systems holding 5% or less with Windows Phone being the most common other operating system.

[via TechCrunch]