Google Inc (GOOG) Android In Front, Apple Inc. (AAPL) iOS Closing Fast: Kantar

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As far as the United States smartphone market is concerned, devices powered by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) are out in front of the competition. That being said, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its iOS operating system is closing fast and hoping for more of the same as 2013 wears on.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech recently compiled some information pertaining to the race to the top of the market. Here is some data, which may open your eyes just a bit:

“Through the 3 month period ending April 2013, Android now owns more than half (51.7%) of the smartphone sales market,. iOS remains in second place with 41.4% of smartphone sales, while Windows’ smartphone sales share remains at 5.6% – compared to last month – but has grown over the last year by 1.8% points. Positive movement can also be seen across carriers, too, particularly by leader Verizon with 36.3% of smartphones sold (1.8% points increase) and Sprint Nextel with 13.1% of smartphones sold (1.4% points increase). AT&T, in second place, remains stable at 26.3%, while T-Mobile declines to 11.3%.”

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)As we noted above, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is the clear number one at this time. However, its dominance is not quite as clear as it once was with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iOS making a push.

Whether or not Apple is able to catch Google in the near future remains to be seen. While Windows’ smartphone sales are also picking up, they have too far to go to be considered a major threat at this time.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato touched on some of the specifics, pertaining to wireless carriers and these operating systems:

“Verizon and Sprint’s slight increase is thanks to the growth of two key players. For Verizon, Windows’ share rose from 0.2% in the three months ending April 2012 to 6.8% by the period ending April 2013. At Sprint, they continued to reap share increases thanks to their iOS offering- iOS sales share on Sprint grew from 33.4% to 38.4% over the last year.”

As you can see, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are not the only companies that benefit from an increase in market share. The wireless carriers can experience a nice bump in business as well.

Believe it or not, the battle is just now beginning to heat up between Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

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