Apple's iPhone remained the most popular smartphone among US buyers in
the closing months of 2012 while Android handsets were on top worldwide,
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reported on Tuesday.
"At the end of 2012,
the global (operating system) picture shows Android on top, but clearly
the rate of growth it experienced over the past year is beginning to
slow as easy wins from first-time smartphone buyers begin to reduce,"
said Kantar global consumer insight director Dominic Sunnebo.
Apple
iPhones accounted for 51.2 percent of smartphone sales in the United
States during the 12-week period ending December 23rd of last year,
according to Kantar.
Smartphones powered by Google-backed Android
software made up slightly more than 44 percent of sales while handsets
based on Microsoft's Windows operating system were a distant third-place
with 2.6 percent, the report indicated.
Android smartphones
continued to be best sellers in major markets including Britain, China,
Spain, Australia, and Germany while iPhones were favored in Japan as
well as the United States, according to Kantor.
Windows
smartphones appeared to be catching on in Europe, with its shares of
sales in Britain and Italy climbing to 5.9 and 13.9 percent
respectively, the reported indicated.
"Windows Phone is now starting to gain respectable shares in a number of key European countries," Sunnebo said.
"However,
its performance in the Chinese and US markets remains underwhelming;
these remain key challenges for Microsoft to overcome during 2013."
Mobiles at CES 2013