Analysts predict that in the near future, Google"s Android OS will overtake both RIM and Apple in US smartphone market share. According to Business Insider and the latest data from comScore, Android"s market share continues to climb at an astounding rate. In Q2 alone, Android"s share in the US smartphone market has risen 5%. In the same timeframe, it seems that all other smartphone platforms have been in decline (Palm held steady). RIM, for example, lost 1.8%, while Apple lost 1.3%. Microsoft, who is busy prepping Windows Phone 7, lost 2.2% (this will likely turn around once the new platform is launched).
Android is clearly shaping up to be one of, if not the most, dominant smartphone OS in the world. Keeping that in mind, you"d think that a company like Nokia would want to jump on board in order to maintain their dominance in the market. However, in spite of the facts mentioned above, Nokia"s outgoing VP of Mobile Solutions, Anssi Vanjoki, seems less than impressed with Android"s success. According to Engadget, the Financial Times has quoted Vanjoki saying that Android only presents a short-term solution for what"s needed by phone manufacturers. In painting a picture of what he means, Vanjoki compared phone manufactures that use Android to Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" to keep warm in the winter.
Despite what Vanjoki may think, companies like HTC would probably argue against such an analogy. Without Android, one could only guess where the little Taiwanese based company would be today. Their relationship with Google and the Android OS has turned them into one of the most promising and and dominant companies in today"s smartphone market. Financial Times also notes that some analysts feel that if Android is on nearly every phone, users will feel like everything is the same. This, in turn, could cause companies to actually lose money. However, manufacturers like HTC and Motorola seem to be well aware of this. This is probably the main reason they are so adamant about slapping their own user interfaces onto the OS. This gives them their own "flavor" of Android and causes the average consumer to see it as its own platform.