httpwww.teleread.org20100406cleaning-up-epubs-to-work-with-ibook-aggregatorsandroid-attack.jpgForget Fifty Shades of Grey – how about Fifty Flavors of Lloyd? Yes, if you want to see a dominant force cracking its whip over the supine global smartphone market, Android in IDC’s latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker is the one you want to catch. According to the IDC numbers, “Android and iOS inched closer to total domination of the worldwide smartphone market in both the fourth quarter (4Q14) and the calendar year 2014 (CY14).” And in particular, while iOS saw its market share fall slightly from 15.1 percent in 2013 to 14.8 percent  in 2014, Android grew its market share from 78.7 percent in 2013 to 81.5 percent in 2014. And Android also “pushed past the one billion unit mark in 2014, a significant milestone by itself but also because total Android volumes in 2014 bested total smartphone volumes in 2013.”

As this indicates, Android is seeing its growth exceed that of the overall smartphone market. “Android outpaced the overall smartphone market for CY14 (32.0 percent vs 27.7 percent, respectively),” as IDC characterizes it. “A combination of strong end-user demand, refreshed product portfolios, and the availability of low-cost devices – particularly for Android – drove volumes higher, said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team. Meanwhile, the report continues, “iOS saw its market share for 2014 decline slightly even as volumes reached a new record and grew at nearly the same pace as the overall smartphone market. Much of this was due to the strong demand for Apple’s new and larger iPhones and the reception they had within key markets. What remains to be seen is how Apple will sustain demand going forward, as larger screens were among the last gaps in its product portfolio.”

With Windows Phone and the other contenders in the smartphone OS market barely visible, Android’s overall domination of the market looks secure and increasing. That’s the Billion-Unit Phone alright…

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