Android is "secret sauce"

Apple is losing some of its smartphone market share, while Android supporters like HTC, Samsung, and Motorola are seeing substantial growth, according to the latest figures from research firm iSuppli.

The report on the top ten smartphone brands for the second quarter of 2010 showed Apple slipping, dropping four percent in shipments of its otherwise successful iPhone. Part of this drop was attributed to the iPhone 3GS reaching the end of its life and the launch of the iPhone 4, which Apple failed to meet demand for.

The overall effect of this led to Apple's market share dropping from 15.7 percent to 13.9 percent.

Another factor in Apple's decline is clearly the growing success of Google's Android platform, which has taken the world by storm this year. Most of the smartphone manufacturers who saw substantial growth in the second quarter are Android supporters, launching some of the most successful smartphones of this year.

HTC took the spotlight with a massive 63.1 percent increase in shipments from three million units in Q1 to 4.9 million in Q2. This helped HTC gain more market share, rising from 5.3 percent to eight percent.

HTC's success can be attributed to the launch of a wide range of successful Android phones, such as the Desire, Wildfire and Evo 4G.

HTC was not the only Android supporter to see huge growth. Samsung was not far behind with 55.6 percent more shipments in the second quarter, increasing overall market share from 3.2 percent to 4.6 percent. Much of this was attributed to the Galaxy S.

Motorola also saw some good growth, jumping 12.5 percent in shipments and increasing its market share from 4.3 percent to 4.5 percent. This growth was more modest than the others, but Motorola has been growing consecutively over the past five quarters, mainly due to its Droid.

“Every brand that has put effort into designing smart phones using Google’s mobile operating system is riding the Android wave,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli. “From the spectacular growth of HTC and Samsung, to the steady advances of Motorola, Android is the secret sauce for smart phone growth for many companies in 2010.”