Clicky Web Analytics recently crunched some numbers it collected regarding cell phone global market share, and guess what? The iPhone is still at the top of the heap.
First, a caveat on the data mining itself:
“Marketshare
data is calculated from the sum of all traffic across the 166,049 web sites
that currently use Clicky Web Analytics.
Most reports do not go back further than November 18, 2009, as that is when we
started tracking this data. Global browser and operating system families do
have a larger history, however.”
Got it? Good. First slide, please?
When it comes to mobile web browsers, it stands to reason that the most popular handset (the iPhone) has the most popular browser (Safari). Interestingly, Blackberry’s was Number Two until halfway through December 2009, when the “Other/unknown” category surged ahead, probably due to the rise of Android platforms. Opera and IE mobile, not surprisingly, remain niche players.
On to mobile OS’s — or to quote ‘Enery the Eighth, “second verse, same as the first.” iPhone on top, Blackberry a distant second and dipping slightly…but what’s this? An “Other/unknown” surge that clearly ISN’T Android, which (along with Symbian) putters along contentedly underneath. WebOS? WinCE? Palm? Um, why bother at this point?
Verrrrrry interesting. Google Mobile’s “one size fits all” approach dominates the handheld search-engine category. The once-mighty Yahoo is so far behind it might as well be flatlined on the baseline with everyone else. (And who’s “Baidu?” Sounds more like an R&B singer.)
When it comes to actual mobile phone marketshare, it’s once again a no-brainer that the iPhone is out in front. But check out second and third place, held respectively by “Other/unknown” and…iPods?!? Guess a lot of people are (a) making Wi-Fi/VOIP calls on their iTouches or (b) bypassing the whole Apple/RIM hype juggernaut entirely. And while the Moto Droid is still too new to have any real market dominance, it’s pretty much stuck in the kitchen commiserating with the Blackberries, while all the cool kids party in the living room. Even more shockingly, the Palm Pre didn’t even place here.
Last, but certainly not least, iPhone vs. the Droids: lots and lots of iPhones, a few Moto Droids, and a few more non-Moto Android handsets.
So what have we learned? Obviously, it’s still an iPhone world out there. But remember: these graphs represent just a month and a half of data, and what few dramatic shifts/exclusions we’ve seen might turn out to be statistically insignificant over a longer time line.
Check in with us next year, and we’ll see how things have shaken out by then.
Accessories & Apps: Beta Testers Wanted
iOS Firmware/IPSW Download Guide
Legacy iTunes Download Archive
App Store Top Charts
iPhone and Android Resale Value Charts
USA iPhone Carrier Plans Compared
Complete iPhone Jailbreaking Guide 
Complete iPhone Specification Matrix 
Dude that is like way cool dude.
Everything from Apple is a LIE!
I notice there’s no mention of Google Chrome on the mobile browser breakdown. I’m wondering if that’s because its not there or if its being lumped in with Safari Mobile. Chrome on Android announces its UA as Safari mobile…
Till recently I used my N810 as my mobile device. I used the browser called Tear built on webkit. I change the User Agent to say I am on iphone using safari. So these stats mean diddly squat.
err…these graph’s could’ve made a lot more sense with actual explanations of what they are plotting.
Baidu is Chinese language competitor to google, watch out for that as china market evolves
exactly what i was thinking
Credibility = 0 if you don’t know what baidu is.
Might have been acceptable in 2007 but this is 09.
Love the lame stream tech wannbe journos..
LOL
merry xmas
wow not even know what Baidu is.. stop reading this crap
Not sure what lies are involved in this…idiotic misleading titles.. btw season 4 of Dexter is a let down, I figured out the Trinity killers motives, history before the main character did..thats just sad
The stats in this article are indeed completely misleading.
Smartphone world market share:
These lies come out all the time… It’s hard to decipher the truth.
Im just waiting on the Islate now! Too bad apple didnt invent electronic cigarettes lol.
So we should ignore the 99.999% of people who do not change their user agent string?
Still, these graphs are lacking clear explanations and are not very useful.
“Guess a lot of people are (a) making Wi-Fi/VOIP calls on their iTouches…”
Probably not. That would require a device with voice capabilities, a microphone, speaker….little things like that.
I have to say I have played with a lot of phones and the android phones are definitely the closest to the Iphone in ease of use and functionality. I love my Iphone and would never willingly trade it for any other phone…