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The end of Android could be approaching, suggests Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt. As noted by Forbes, McCourt estimates that Apple held a 59% grip on the smartphone market in the first quarter of 2012, compared to just 39% in the year-ago quarter. The iPhone continues to be a dominant force in the United States, with 4.3 million handsets activated on AT&T in the first quarter in addition to 3.2 million units on Verizon and 1.5 million units on Sprint in the same time period.
With the launch of the so-called “iPhone 5″ on the horizon, the momentum that Apple is experiencing is going to continue. McCourt believes that Google’s share of the smartphone market might have peaked, which means that it is likely to now continue declining. In his research note, McCourt says that Apple has “won the game,” at least in the American market, with the iPhone. Read on for his full opinion.
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So, here’s a thought. Could it be the case that Google’s share of the smartphone market has peaked? That the phone-buying public simply is more inclined to choose Apple’s vertically integrated approach over the cacophony of the Android market?
Could it, in fact, be the case that, while Google and Microsoft can innovate and find niche markets for their mobile OS offerings, that Apple has basically won the game, at least for the U.S. market? There’s no question that Android-based devices are crushing the likes of Nokia and Research in Motion at the low-end of the market, rapidly killing off the feature phone market. But at the top of the heap, Apple is crushing it. And iPhone 5 is just months away.
Could it, in fact, be the case that, while Google and Microsoft can innovate and find niche markets for their mobile OS offerings, that Apple has basically won the game, at least for the U.S. market? There’s no question that Android-based devices are crushing the likes of Nokia and Research in Motion at the low-end of the market, rapidly killing off the feature phone market. But at the top of the heap, Apple is crushing it. And iPhone 5 is just months away.
[img][url="http://wp-content.ifans.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Apple-unit-sales.png"]http://wp-content.if...-unit-sales.png[/url][/img]
Do you think that what McCourt is saying is true? Could the so-called “end of Android” really be approaching because of the iPhone’s dominance in the United States?
Source: iFans
