Android becomes best-selling smartphone OS [Video]

Google’s mobile operating system has overtaken Nokia’s Symbian, according to Canalys

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Shipments of Android-based smartphones reached 32.9 million worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2010, making Android the best-selling operating system for smartphones, market research company Canalys said on Monday.

The Nokia-backed Symbian platform is now in second place. Worldwide shipments of Symbian-based smartphones totalled 31 million in the fourth quarter, compared to 23.9 million a year earlier. Its market share dropped from 44.4 percent to 30.6 percent, due in large part to Android’s spectacular 615.1 percent year-on-year sales growth. In a year, Android’s market share has grown from 8.4 percent to 32.5 percent.

Android’s ascent to the smartphone throne has come a few quarters earlier than previously expected, according to Pete Cunningham, analyst at Canalys. In the fourth quarter, Android was helped by strong sales from a number of vendors, including LG, Samsung, Acer and HTC, according to Canalys. …