Google’s Android has overtaken Apple Inc.’s iPhone in smartphone sales for the first time ever, according to one market research firm. New smartphone subscribers choosing Android handsets accounted for 27% of U.S. smartphone sales in the first half of the year, while buyers choosing the iPhone accounted for 23%.
The report is the latest indication that Google’s smartphone software, which powers handsets made by device makers such as Motorola and HTC, continues to gain momentum in the mobile market.
Research In Motion’s BlackBerry handset continues to top the category with 33%, but its share has been slipping as consumers seem to prefer the larger number of apps and superior browsing experience on Android and Apple phones.
Google gives its mobile software away for free to handset makers, with the aim of getting more people to use their phones to access the Internet and help the Internet search giant grab a share of the mobile ad market, which is expected to reach $593 million in the U.S. this year.
Google said last month that 160,000 Android-powered devices were being activated worldwide every day, a stunning number that would put Android on a pace to sell more than 58 million phones in a year- roughly the same number of Apple iPhones sold since it hit the market in 2007.
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