In worldwide country-level second quarter 2011 smartphone market estimates, Canalys noted substantial market growth in all regions. Globally, the market grew 73% year on year, with an excess of 107.7 million units shipping in the second quarter of 2011.
Of the 56 countries Canalys tracks around the world, Android led in 35 of them and achieved a global marketshare of 48%. Asia Pacific (APAC) remained the largest regional market, with 39.8 million units shipping there, compared with 35 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and 32.9 million in the Americas.
Android, the number one platform by shipments since the fourth quarter 2010, was also the strongest growth driver this quarter, with Android-based smartphone shipments up 379% over the same period a year ago, to 51.9 million units.
Growth was bolstered by strong Android product performances from a number of vendors, including Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and Huawei.
There were particularly strong performances from Android devices in APAC countries, such as South Korea, where Android holds an 85% platform share, and Taiwan, where it has 71%.
With shipments of 20.3 million iPhones and a market share of 19%, iOS overtook Nokia’s Symbian platform during the quarter to take second place worldwide. In doing so, Apple also became the world’s leading individual smartphone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long held leadership position.