55 Million Android Handsets Sold In 2010

It's common knowledge that Android is fast pacing it to the top of the smartphone market and some new research by DigiTimes firmly cements that picture. The report basically lays out a vision of the global smartphone market growing by some 57% in 2010 with Android taking the lion's share of that growth. Last year Android had just 5% of the global smartphone market, but that has ballooned to 13.8% in the first six months of this year and DiGiTimes are projecting that figure to almost double to 24.5% by the year's end. That figure would put Android in the number 2 spot globally, behind Symbian, which commands around 40% of the market.

In terms of actual units shipped the projection is that Android will see an astonishing 55 million units ship this year. A year on year comparison means that 55 million this year would represent a 561% growth over shipments last year. Of course big growth figures aren't surprising given that Android is coming fromhaving just one device back in 2008 (the G1) to the multitude of devices that now adorn the shelves at your local mobile shop. However, it is worth pointing out that alongside those impressive growth figures are equally impressive sales figures; 55 million units is a lot in anyone's book, whether they're coming from behind or not.