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Worldwide shipments of Android devices surged about 14 times over smart phone shipments in the second quarter 2010, according to a research firm Canalys.
Shipments of smart phones running the Google-backed Android operating system grew at an incredible rate of 886 percent, driven by key products from HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG.
Meanwhile, Canalys said the smart phone market grew by 64 percent annually worldwide.
"The latest release of our detailed and complete country-level smart phone shipment data for Q2 2010 clearly reveals the impressive momentum Android is gaining in markets around the world," said Canalys VP and Principal Analyst, Chris Jones, commenting on the publication.
In the United States carrier, Verizon Wireless have been heavily promoting high-profile Android devices, such as the Droid by Motorola and the Droid Incredible by HTC.
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"These products (Droid and Droid Incredible) have been well received by the market, with consumers eager to download and engage with mobile applications and services, such as Internet browsing, social networking, games and navigation," Jones said.
On the manufacturing side, mobile giant Nokia retained a "substantial lead" in the worldwide smart phone market, achieving a 38 percent market share and shipping 23.8 million smart phones during the quarter, representing growth of 41 percent on a year ago.
"But Nokia's market dominance is not as unassailable as it once was, with its performance outpaced by growth in the smart phone market as a whole," Canalys said.
For the second quarter, shipments of RIM's BlackBerry smart phones grew 41 percent, helped by continued strong demand for devices such as the Curve 8520, and gained an 18 percent market share.
Despite issues over antennagate, initial shipments of the iPhone 4 were "predictably strong" and contributed to Apple's 61 percent growth and worldwide market share of 13 percent for the quarter.
U.S, China
The United States smart phone market rose 41 percent year on year, with Android devices collectively representing a 34 percent share of the US market in the quarter, and with growth of 851 percent Android became the largest smart phone platform in the country.
In the Asia-Pacific region, China was the world's second largest smart phone market for the sixth consecutive quarter, with shipments of 6.9 million units representing 11 percent of the worldwide total.
"The story in the Asia Pacific region is similarly optimistic around Android. 'Android devices are gaining good traction in markets such as mainland China and South Korea, with growing numbers of consumers wanting more sophisticated smart phones," Senior Analyst, TY Lau said.
