Symbian OS still bossing Apple and Google in mobile market

New research from Gartner shows that for the fourth quarter of 2008 Symbian based smartphones accounted for 47.1 per cent of the sector’s total sales, with 17.9m handsets sold.

Blackberry-owning RIM was next in line with 19.5 per cent (7.4m units), followed by Microsoft Windows Mobile at 12.4 per cent (4.7m units). Apple trailed with a 10.7 per cent market share (4.1m units) and Linux 8.4 per cent (3.2m units).

Of the Linux figure, Google Android phones (of which these is currently just one – the T-Mobile G1) accounted for 20 per cent – or 1.7 per cent of the total market.

When the fact that Apple is a single device vendor is considered, however, the numbers become all the more impressive for Apple – particularly considering that the numbers represent a 111.6 per cent year-on-year hike. Nokia, in contrast, suffered a 21.6 per cent annual drop.